The public prosecutor’s office in Mechelen on Thursday requested sentences of up to six years in prison accompanied by fines of up to €160,000 for 11 defendants accused of various crimes including cryptocurrency fraud.
The eight men and three women, who impersonated real estate agents, demanded their commissions in cryptocurrency, then hacked their victims’ accounts.
The gang’s first target was a horse breeder from De Kempen. When, in October 2020, he decided to sell his stock, the fraudsters approached him. They asked for a €500 commission in bitcoins and persuaded him to install a specific app. The next day, he discovered that 110 bitcoins – over €1.5 million at that time – had vanished from his account.
The gang also posed as agents for a villa sale in Koksijde. An infiltration operation was set up after an initial meeting in October 2021. Before the fraud could take place, the police intervened and arrested three people. Searches were conducted concurrently in Brussels and Charleroi, resulting in the apprehension of the remaining gang members.
The prosecution requested six years' imprisonment and a €160,000 fine for the ringleader, and up to three years in prison and an €80,000 fine for the others. Five defendants were absent. The rest pleaded for acquittal or downplayed their roles.
The horse breeder has also filed a civil lawsuit. On top of a €5,000 claim for emotional distress, he is demanding €7.6 million in compensation, equivalent to the worth of his bitcoins when their value peaked last year.
