The Court of the Southern District of New York sentenced a resident of Long Island and his son to several years of imprisonment on charges of organizing a crypto scheme, in which more than two dozen investors lost more than $ 12 million.

The 62-year-old Eugene William Austin Jr., also known as Hugh Austin, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and three years of conditional imprisonment. In addition to the district, Kevin Castel ordered to confiscate $ 6 million from the accused and compensate for the damage to investors in the amount of $ 12.6 million.

Earlier, the son of the accused, Brandon Austin was sentenced to four years in prison for involvement in the same crypto scheme.

In September 2024, the jury accused Hugh Austin in conspiracy to make fraud using electronic communications, laundering money through cryptocurrencies and transporting stolen property. The prosecutor’s office said that for many years Hugh Austin has ruled a fraudulent investment scheme and involved his own son into his crimes.

Austin promised investors high profits from investment in crypto actes and foreign currencies. The project attracted money from entrepreneurs, startups and private investors, positioning themselves as brokers selling large volumes of cryptocurrencies. The accused took money even from friends and acquaintances, promising to return the amount with interest, the court materials say.

Investors were spent on personal expenses and a luxurious lifestyle – air travel, hotels, restaurants and shopping, the prosecutor’s office announced. The crypto project used the money received from new investors to pay to early creditors, as is usually done in financial pyramids.

In March, the Federal Court of Brooklyn sentenced the local entrepreneur Thomas John Sfraga to 45 months of imprisonment for real estate and cryptocurrency fraud for $ 2 million. Last year, the District Court of Georgia sentenced 40-year-old American Stephen Draudy to 32 months of prison and a fine of $ 1.1 million for fraud with computers for mining.