An appellate court has confirmed the conviction of Randall Crater, the mind behind the defunct crypto business "My Big Coin".
This decision solidified his sentence of over eight years in federal prison.
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The defense for Crater tried to appeal the sentence, arguing that his Sixth Amendment rights were breached, because the court did not compel the attendance of witnesses whom he believed would be favorable to his defense.
In addition, the legal team objected to the inclusion of testimony from Pamela Cregg, a cryptocurrency expert whom they deemed unqualified.
However, the appellate panel, comprised of Judges Gustavo Gelpí, Jeffrey Howard, and Julie Rikelman, found none of the defense's arguments sufficient to warrant a reversal of the decision. Therefore, the appeal was denied.
He was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, and "one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business."
Crater's business, launched in 2013, was essentially a fraud scheme which led to victim losses of more than $7.6 million.
He lured investors by promising that all cryptocurrencies on "My Big Coin" were backed by gold. In reality, however, the money was misappropriated for Crater's personal gain.
The court's decision to uphold Randall Crater's conviction marks the ongoing efforts to combat fraud in the cryptocurrency industry.
Another legal battle prominent in the crypto environment involves Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon. The most recent update in this case is that he is set to be extradited to the United States.
