All Hell Breaks Loose, This Avalanche Project Main Dev Was Behind A Ponzi Scheme?
28 January 2022 - 05:00AM
NEWSBTC
The Avalanche community has seen its fair share of drama in the
past days as Wonderland (TIME) hit a new price low. Data from
CoinGecko indicates that the token has lost over 90% of its value
since November 2021. Related Reading | Hackers Are Now Using
Compromised Cloud Accounts To Mine Crypto The Avalanche token was
priced close to $10,000 and has been on a downtrend since that
period reaching $406, as of press time. TIME has been one of the
worst performers in the DeFi sector and could see further losses in
the short term. According to a pseudonym investigator, Wonderland’s
CFO known as OxSifu is the co-founder of QuadrigaCX, a former
Canadian-based crypto exchange, Michael Patryn. This platform
collapsed in 2019 shortly after its founder Gerald Cotten runaway
with over $169 million. Per a report published by the Ontario
Securities Commission, QuadrigaCX was created from “fraud”. The
crypto exchange and its founder promised their clients that their
assets will be safe. However, the Canadian authorities discovered
that “Cotten spent, traded, and used those assets at will”. The
pseudonym investigator decided to reveal the information related to
Sifu due to TIME’s recent price action, and its implication for the
inventors on the Avalanche project. He said the following via
Twitter after sharing screenshots of a conversation with the
founder of Wonderland, Daniele Sestagalli: I never would have
expected this but cannot sit on it any longer especially after the
events experienced earlier this week with TIME. In addition to the
crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, Patryn was allegedly tied to an
“identity theft ring” known as “Shadowcrew”. According to the
investigator Patryn “plead guilty” to his ties with this illegal
group. In their report, the Canadian authorities are unable to
establish a connection between Patryn and the fraudulent behavior
displayed by its founder. The OSC claims Patryn was involved with
the QuadrigaCX until 2016, after that: Patryn ceased to be
associated with Quadriga after 2016 and that the majority of client
funds were deposited with Quadriga after Patryn’s departure. Based
on the evidence we reviewed, Quadriga did not maintain proper
accounting records from 2016 onward. Avalanche Project CFO, An Old
Time Fraudster? Despite this report, Tay Vano CEO at crypto
managing service MyCrypto shared the results of an investigation,
conducted by independent reporter Amy Castor, that ties Patryn to
the failed crypto exchange, and other Ponzi schemes. In 2019,
according to images shared via her Twitter account, the Avalanche
project CFO made ETH transactions that could directly link him to
Quadriga. Quadriga ties back to Sifu.eth https://t.co/Ugb1I5J6gw —
zachxbt.eth (@zachxbt) January 27, 2022 Patryn’s record of alleged
fraudulent activities has been tracked back to Midas Gold, an
exchange that operated between 2008 and 2013 until it was shut
down, BlackHatWorld and TalkGold. The latter operated in 2003 as a
forum to “push high yield investment programs” or Ponzi schemes.
Moreover, the same investigation suggests Michael Patryn changed
his name from Omar Dhanani until he met Cotton. Patryn apparently
was released from a U.S. federal prison back in 2007 after serving
an 18-month sentence related to his involvement with “Shadowcrew”.
Related Reading | Crypto.com Restores Withdrawals After Reportedly
Losing $15m To Hackers Due to this long history of fraud, and
illicit schemes involvement, some believe the founder of Wonderland
has put his “reputation on the line”. Sestagalli shared a vote to
remove Sifu/Patryn from his position as Wonderland’s treasury
manager after sharing a long statement on recent events. Daniele
said: I found out about this 1 month ago, I am of the opinion of
giving second chances (…). I have learned to give trust to people
and to make my own opinions about them rather than just listen to
the noise (…). I hope the community now comes together and decides
what the future looks like and who they want managing their money.
Avalanche (COIN:AVAXUSD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Avalanche (COIN:AVAXUSD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024