Crime doesn’t pay, even if it is in cryptocurrency. Three expats learned this lesson the hard way.
They were convicted for cheating an Abu Dhabi resident of AED 242,326 in a cryptocurrency trading scam.
The trio were fined AED 80,000 each — after being convicted by the lower courts. The Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation upheld the ruling.
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The victim complained that the woman defendant deceived him by claiming that she was working in the cryptocurrency trade, and urging him to invest in the ‘profitable’ cryptocurrency trade.
She advised him to open an online account for trading in cryptocurrencies and said that her brokerage company was handling the cryptocurrency trade. She assured him that she would manage his account in his deal with a broker.
The woman texted him to transfer $34,653 (AED127,280) to an account in the name of the second defendant and to deposit another $6,246 (AED 22,941) in the third defendant’s account.
However, the victim became suspicious after the woman stopped taking his calls and later blocked him on her phone – following the cash transactions.
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He then complained to the police, who swung into action and nabbed the trio for trial on charges of obtaining cash through fraudulent means.
The Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance and the Appeals Court had fined the three defendants Dh80,000 each with deportation to their home countries.
The fraudsters’ appeal to the top court in Abu Dhabi was also rejected with the lower courts’ rulings being upheld. (AW)
