Wolf Capital co-founder Travis Ford sentenced to 5 years in prison for $9.4 million pyramid scheme

Travis Ford, co-founder of Wolf Capital Crypto Trading Company, was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a $9.4 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

Ford, 36, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and will pay more than $1 million in forfeitures and more than $170,000 in restitution, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release. Ford played a key role in a cryptocurrency investment scheme in which 2,800 investors were defrauded of millions of dollars between January and August 2023.

On November 14, the Justice Department announced that the sentencing follows a January guilty plea to wire fraud conspiracy against the former chief executive of Wolf Capital.

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Travis Ford seduces victims with false promises

Wolf Capital raised money from unsuspecting investors after Ford and his co-conspirators solicited investments through promotions on the company’s website and other social media. The convicted cryptocurrency investment company executive claimed to be a “sophisticated trader capable of delivering high profits.”

But instead of receiving returns of 1% to 2% per day, or about 547% annually, investors remained high, and Ford is said to have misappropriated and diverted these funds for personal gain.

Earlier this week, a Chinese woman accused of defrauding more than 128,000 people and confiscating more than $6 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) after the UK seized her was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Jimin Qian, known as the “Crypto Queen,” was arrested in April 2024 with 61,000 BTC stolen from Chinese victims in a pyramid scheme.

Mr. Qian and Mr. Ford are among the latest cases to be jailed for cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes around the world.

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