An Oklahoma man has been sentenced to five years in prison for leading a cryptocurrency investment scam that took in millions of dollars from investors before it collapsed.
Travis Ford was sentenced to 60 months in prison on November 13, according to an announcement by the Department of Justice. He will also be under supervised release for three more years once his prison term ends.
In addition to serving time, Ford has been ordered to pay more than $1 million and to repay around $170,000 to the victims.
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He co-founded and led Wolf Capital, which he promoted as a platform offering strong returns from cryptocurrency trading. He told potential investors they could earn between 1% and 2% per day, an amount that would add up to more than 500% per year.
These claims were used to attract investors, though Ford later admitted he did not believe such returns were regularly possible.
Between January and August of 2023, Ford used the Wolf Capital website and social media to encourage people to invest. Over 2,800 individuals put in a total of about $9.4 million.
According to the Department of Justice, Ford presented himself as an experienced trader, despite knowing the advertised gains were unrealistic.
Prosecutors said Ford, along with others, misled the public to gain their trust and money. He later told investigators that between $4 million and $5 million had been paid back to investors before the company failed.
Recently, a US appeals court rejected a lawsuit brought by Michael Prime, a man convicted of identity theft. What did the judge say? Read the full story.
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