A scam group based in Kyiv in 2019 lured out about $70 million under the guise of investing in cryptocurrencies and stocks. Its victims were thousands of people from more than 50 countries. It is reported by The Guardian, as well as the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, citing an anonymous informant.
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According to the source, the Milton Group is behind the organization of the fraudulent scheme. The victims were found through advertising on social networks, after which they were contacted by phone and urged to invest in cryptocurrencies or stocks.
To attract attention to advertising, they used celebrities who allegedly earned large sums of money through investments in bitcoin.
When clicking on the link, gullible investors left their contacts, after which they received a flurry of calls from "traders" who were ready to help them make money.
It is not known for certain whether all the calls reported by these victims were made by the Milton Group since the phone numbers of potential victims could be transferred or sold to other fraudsters.
The scheme focused primarily on retirees. It is also noteworthy that Milton Group employees had instructions for dealing with victims from different countries. At the same time, fraudsters did not work with residents of the United States to avoid interest from the FBI.
Subsequently, the victims installed software for remote computer control and provided their passport data. They were also asked to enter their bank account and provide account information.
Then, "traders" supposedly helped unsuspecting users trade on dummy platforms, where they were provided with fake information about trading and huge profits. In reality, fraudsters took loans on behalf of the victims.
The victims could not withdraw their “profit”, and also found a complete loss of funds, but other “consultants” contacted them, who allegedly helped to return the money. But for this, investors had to pay a commission and tax. As a result, the funds were not reimbursed, since they simply were no longer on the accounts of the victims.
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According to the informant, who got a job at Milton Group, the scammers were motivated to “squeeze everything to the last cent.”
The head of the Milton Group, Jacob Keselman, denies all allegations against the company but has already deleted his Instagram page. According to the Guardian, he positioned himself on the social network as a “Kyiv wolf."