Three Bitcoin scammers have been jailed after fraudulently gaining more money than they could spend. Preston Crown Court heard how Stephen Boys, Jordan Robinson and Kelly Caton ended up lavishly splashing the cash by handing out £5,000 gift vouchers to random strangers and buying cars for people they met in the pub.
The scam began in 2017 when James Parker spotted a glitch in an Australian cryptocurrency trading website, Lancs Live reported. Parker - who died in 2021 before he could be prosecuted - and his co-conspirators were able to exploit the error by siphoning off more than £20m worth of credits over a three-month period.
The gang of fraudsters, from Blackpool, splurged the cash on luxury items such as designer watches and expensive wine coolers. Police recovered 445 Bitcoin - then worth £22m - in addition to luxury watches, houses, cars and designer goods, including a £600 wine cooler, along with more than £1m in bank accounts.
