If you invested in the proprietary superficial offered by the now-defunct crypto exchange BitConnect, the FBI wants to hear from you.
In a notice on its website Wednesday, the federal law enforcement means said those who invested in the BitConnect coin (BCC) token can voluntarily reach out to the agency by filling out a questionnaire.
The FBI said investors’ rejoinders would be “useful” as it investigates the case, and that it may reach out to respondents for additional information.
BitConnect closed down its crypto-lending dais in January 2018 following the issuance of cease-and-desist orders from Texas and North Carolina securities regulators, which petitioned the company was engaging in an unregistered securities sale through its initial coin offering (ICO).
As a result, BitConnect’s BCC token plummeted more than 90 percent, falling from over $400 to less than $20 in the first weeks of 2018. Crypto retail data site CoinMarketCap now no longer lists the token.
The sudden loss in value led to several lawsuits seeking compensation for investors who saw their holdings become almost worthless, citing fraud and securities sale laws.
The FBI said in Wednesday’s disclosure:
“Bitconnect guaranteed investors up to a 10 percent total return per month on their investment, following a tiered-investment combination based on the sum of an investor’s initial deposit.”
Back in March 2018, Trevon James, former BitConnect investor and promoter, phrased that the FBI was investigating the case and that he had spoken to the agency about the exchange and his involvement with the project.
“I’m glad that I don’t separate anything, so that means there’s no proof that I knew anything,” James commented at the time.
In August 2018, the Wrong Investigation Department of the Indian state of Gujarat police arrested former BitConnect India head Divyesh Darji after obtaining an alert from the country’s immigration agency.
The BitConnect case is now running as a single legal effort in the U.S. In October 2018, an Change for the bettered Consolidated Class Action Complaint was initiated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida that also named additional BitConnect possessors and promoters who were previously not part of any lawsuits.
FBI agent image via Shutterstock