A Serbian national faces up to 20 years in the US prison for his role in a $70 million crypto scam case
Antonije Stojilkovic, a Serbian national has been extradited to the United States to face charges of defrauding investors out of more than $70 million through a cryptocurrency mining and binary options scam.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Stojilkovic, 32, was nabbed in his home country after the country submitted a “provisional arrest request on July 24, 2020 in Belgrade. Stojilkovic subsequently consented to extradition. On Feb. 4, 2021, the FBI completed the removal of Stojilkovic from Serbia to the Northern District of Texas.
Alongside his six coconspirators include Kristijan Krstic, Xenia Faye Atilano Krstic, Marko Pavlovic, Uros Selakovic, and Nenad Krstic, all arrested during the Serbian police operation in July. The DOJ says the defendants, who used their home bases in China and Serbia, orchestrated the scam through “more than 20 fraudulent investing platforms, including Options Rider, Bancde Options, Start Options, Dragon Mining, BTC Mining Factor, and Trinity Mining.
“This $70 million scam spanned several continents, targeting American citizens and foreigners alike,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “We are proud to bring Mr. Stojilkovic to Dallas to face justice in an American courtroom. The U.S. Department of Justice will not relent in our fight against cybercrime.”
On the cryptocurrency mining platforms, meanwhile, they claimed investors could ‘purchase bitcoin at the half market price’ due to a ’24-7 mining’ at facilities ‘worldwide.’ the DOJ says.
If convicted, Mr. Stojilkovic and his codefendants face up to 20 years in federal prison.
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