The perpetrators of a crypto-based boiler room scheme in the U.K. have been sentenced to prison for fraud.
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) charged Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga in connection with a scheme that involved selling fake crypto investments by cold-calling victims, which took in at least £1.5 million.
Both men pleaded guilty to various charges, including conspiracy and money laundering offences. At Southwark Crown Court, Bedi was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, while Mavanga received six and a half years.
“Bedi and Mavanga ruthlessly defrauded dozens of innocent victims, and it is right that they have received these prison sentences. Criminals need to be clear that there is a cost to committing crime and we will seek to make them pay,” said Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, in a release.
The regulator noted that proceedings are also underway seeking disgorgement from the pair.