(NewsNation) — A Serbian man was extradited to the United States for his alleged role in coordinated $70 million in cryptocurrency and binary options scams, the Department of Justice announced.
Kristijan Krstic’s legal troubles began in March 2020 when a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas indicted him for his role in defrauding investors through deceptive cryptocurrency and binary options investment platforms.
He, along with more than a dozen co-conspirators, was accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a superseding indictment issued July 2020.
According to court documents, Krstic and his associates were allegedly behind over 20 fraudulent investment platforms, including names like Start Options, Trinity Mining, Hedger Tech, BTC Mining Factory, Bitcoin Trading World, Dragon Mining, BTC Trader Online, Crypto Trading World, Go Solar Mining, BTC Falcon, Perpetual Energy, Perfect-Options, Options Rider, Option Giants, Banking Options, Aeon Options, Bancde Options, Instant Options, Fast Options and Elite Options.
Krstic is currently confronting a dual set of charges in two different U.S. districts:
- In the Northern District of Texas, he faces accusations of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, all stemming from his purported involvement in the orchestration and promotion of fraudulent online investment schemes.
- In the Eastern District of New York, Krstic is charged with a more extensive list of allegations, which includes one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In February 2021, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York also indicted Krstic for his role in a separate cryptocurrency scheme. This scheme involved the solicitation of U.S. investors through two fraudulent online investment platforms.
Krstic was identified as the founder of these digital-asset investment platforms, namely Start Options and B2G, and he also held the position of chief financial officer at Start Options.
The indictment alleges that, between approximately 2017 and 2018, Krstic and his associates deceptively induced U.S.-based investors to purchase securities in the form of investment contracts through Start Options and B2G.
Krstic used the alias “Felix Logan” and even created a Twitter handle, “@felixlogan_cfo,” to communicate with investors associated with Start Options and B2G.
Start Options, as claimed in the indictment, purported to be an online investment platform providing services for cryptocurrency mining and digital asset trading, including trading in cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks, and indices.
If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison for each count in both cases.