Federal prosecutors have unveiled an indictment against California residents Gabriel Hay and Gavin Mayo, charging them in connection with a $22 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme.
This alarming revelation follows reports by the FBI indicating that Americans lost over $5.6 billion to cryptocurrency fraud in 2023, marking a staggering 45% increase from the prior year.
According to prosecutors, Hay, based in Beverly Hills, and Mayo from Thousand Oaks, executed multiple “rugpull” schemes from May 2021 to May 2024. They allegedly launched NFT projects designed to lure investors, only to abandon these ventures while keeping the funds.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has officially charged both individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of stalking. Each fraud charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, with the stalking charge potentially adding an additional five years.
At just 23 years old, the duo allegedly promoted several fraudulent schemes, including the “Vault of Gems NFT,” collecting millions from unsuspecting investors before abruptly abandoning the projects.
The indictment highlights their efforts to obscure their involvement by falsely attributing project ownership to others. Prosecutors have also accused them of initiating a harassment campaign targeting a project manager and their family.
This case is indicative of a troubling trend in cryptocurrency-related crime, with the FBI noting that although crypto-related offenses make up only 10% of all financial fraud complaints, they result in nearly half of the total financial losses incurred by Americans from scams in 2023.
Investment schemes akin to those allegedly perpetrated by Hay and Mayo resulted in the highest losses, totaling $4 billion nationwide.
