DOJ Charges Texas Man for Orchestrating $10 Million Meta-1 Coin Scam

cryptonews.com:

Texas resident Robert Dunlap has been arrested on federal mail fraud charges in connection with the Meta-1 Coin scam that saw investors drained of over $10 million, a Tuesday press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed.

According to the DOJ’s complaint, Dunlap developed a digital asset entitled Meta-1 Coin in 2018 which he claimed was backed by over $44 billion in gold and art, with pieces by “Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Salvador Dali,  and other acclaimed artists.”

Texas Man Charged With Orchestrating Digital Currency Scam That Bilked Investors out of More Than $10 Million @FBIChicago @IRSCI_CHI @Chicago_SEC @EDVAnews https://t.co/CuXJLGkUBZ

— U.S. Attorney’s Office (NDIL) (@NDILnews) March 19, 2024

In reality, the purported fraudster never purchased any such artwork. Additionally, board members for the Meta-1 Coin Trust told officials Dunlap claimed to be “in possession of billions of dollars of gold” despite lacking “any proof that he or Meta1 Coin Trust purchased, owned, or possessed any gold assets of any kind.”

Authorities allege the Meta-1 Coin creator fraudulently generated “numerous legal, insurance, and other documents in an effort to conceal the fact that he did not possess the gold or art,” including a surety bond he claimed was backed by the U.S. Treasury.

“The loss of any art piece due to any reason will not affect the value of coin for long because the new art of equal amount can be acquired by filing a claim on the Surety Bond and then purchasing an art piece of the same amount,” the Meta-1 Coin’s White Paper reads.

Dunlap even went so far as creating an exchange for the cryptocurrency utilizing “decentralized exchange bots” in order to  “create the false appearance of an active