Crypto scammers proceed to consider they will get away with their soiled ways. Two residents of Better London have been despatched to jail after swindling greater than £1.54 million—about $2.1 million—from at the very least 65 individuals.
Sentences of over 5 years for Raymondip Bedi and 6 years for Patrick Mavanga got here down this week. Based on a press launch from the UK’s Monetary Conduct Authority, the duo ran a sham crypto scheme between February 2017 and June 2019 that left dozens out of pocket.
FCA Uncovers Large Faux Crypto Platform
Based mostly on experiences from the FCA, Bedi and Mavanga chilly‑known as potential buyers and directed them to an internet site that promised massive returns on digital property. The positioning appeared legit, but it surely was completely faux.
Victims had been proven graphs and figures that by no means existed. Cash went straight into the pair’s accounts. No actual crypto trades occurred.
Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga have been sentenced to a mixed whole of 12 years for cold-calling victims to promote faux crypto investments, defrauding at the very least 65 buyers.
Learn extra https://t.co/9Re7XaRFZJ #FinancialCrime #FraudPrevention #FinancialRegulation #Crypto pic.twitter.com/s7121kHXHk
— Monetary Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) July 4, 2025
Victims Misled With Guarantees Of Excessive Returns
People who responded to these calls had been knowledgeable they might double, even triple their cash inside months. It was a straightforward promote. Simple cash, no danger. However subsequent financial institution statements revealed funds vanished into shell companies owned and run by the 2 males.
Bedi pleaded responsible in Could 2023 to conspiracy to defraud, opposite to the Monetary Providers and Markets Act 2000, and cash laundering. Mavanga pleaded responsible in June 2023 to the identical offenses together with possession of false ID paperwork.
Courtroom Hears Particulars Of The Scheme
At a listening to this week, prosecutors famous that the pair made chilly calls day after day. They focused 65 buyers in whole. Some misplaced as little as £5,000; others gave as much as £200,000.
All had been advised they’d get at the very least 10% returns each month. However no payouts ever arrived. The FCA’s joint government director of enforcement, Steve Good, mentioned the sentences ship a transparent warning: crime received’t pay.
Victims Urged To Keep Alert
Good added that real funding companies don’t ring out of the blue with assured income. He urged anybody approached with such offers to hold up and verify the FCA’s register.
He reminded individuals: if it sounds too good to be true, it in all probability is. The watchdog has tightened its oversight in recent times, monitoring down dozens of crypto‑associated frauds.
A Wake‑Up Name For Crypto Buyers
This case reveals that regulators are watching digital property as intently as conventional markets. It additionally highlights how the cellphone stays a software for crooks.
Buyers ought to at all times confirm who they’re coping with. Lookup firms on the FCA web site, ask for official paperwork, and by no means rush right into a deal.
Featured picture from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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