Cunning Digital Currency, BitCoin Scheme Is Hatched

Need a luxury house in Missouri City, Texas, a house in Corpus Christi for a relative, a Cadillac Escalade, and a Ford F250 truck, all worth $1.1 million? When Rowland Marcus Andrade wanted this luxury package, he started NAC Foundation, LLC (NAC) in Nevada, and sold $5.6 million of unregistered digital assets to 2,400 retail investors. NAC purportedly “developed blockchain digital tokens called AML BitCoin.” SEC Complaint

NAC initially sold a product called ABTC tokens. The story was that investors would be able to exchange the digital tokens one-for-one for AML BitCoin tokens in the future. Despite the fact that investors could not purchase anything with the digital tokens, and eventually could only trade them on two third-party market platforms, Andrade and a political lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, made a pretty good living off this scam for a few years.  SEC Complaint Note: AML BitCoin is not related to BitCoin, but the name may not have hurt sales.

Digital Currency Scam – The Sales Pitch

Andrade knew how to spin a Texas Tale, but never delivered the goods.

  • Product features too good to be true? In a 2017 press release, NAC claimed AML BitCoin was “the only cryptocurrency running on a privately regulated blockchain and using biometric identification protocols, including voice recognition, to verify the owners of AML BitCoin crypto wallets.” Not only were these claims false, but the claims that their digital currency was compliant with all laws and regulations designed to prevent money-laundering, terrorism, identity theft, and financial crimes, also proved to be a lie according to the SEC Complaint .
  • Port of San Francisco. While Andrade had an introductory meeting with the Port of San Francisco to discuss the use of NAC’s digital coin, at the end of the meeting, the prospect told Andrade and his team they were not interested in moving forward. Not surprisingly, NAC advertised in a press release that the Port of San Francisco was considering using AML BitCoin. SEC Complaint
  • Panama Canal Authority. NAC boasted that they started negotiations with the Panama Canal Authority as well as other Latin American governments. The negotiations were to use AML BitCoin as the only digital asset for passage through the Canal. Immediately after the press release, the Panama Canal Authority wrote to NAC about their false claims. SEC Complaint
  • Super Bowl Advertisement. Andrade continued to find creative ways to make his investment look real. He hired a production company to film an ad to run as a Super Bowl spot. NAC did not have the $5 million to run a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl. No problem. The press releases got the buzz started. NAC paid authors to write articles claiming the NFL and NBC refused to run their controversial ads. One article claimed the ad mocked Kim Jung-Un. Nothing like using the current political climate as a way to make money. SEC Complaint

Free Digital Currency & BitCoin Tips

Before investing in Initial Coin Offerings (ICO’s) and digital assets, do your homework. For a few good tips visit Investor.gov. The case with NAC, Andrade, and Abramoff is on-going as of the writing of this article.

No matter how real an opportunity looks, stay vigilant. Check the company with state authorities and the SEC. Is the investment registered? Are the brokers registered? Have any of the people involved with the company sales or leadership been part of a lawsuit or disciplinary action, or even have a criminal history?

Contact a BitCoin & Cryptocurrency Fraud Lawyer Today!

We hope all your crypto-currency and oil and gas investments are safe and profitable. But if you find yourself searching for an experienced oil and gas litigation lawyer or a commercial litigation lawyer, we are here to help.

AML Bitcoin

https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-145

SEC Charges Issuer, CEO, and Lobbyist With Defrauding Investors in AML BitCoin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2020-145

Washington D.C., June 25, 2020 —

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2020/comp-pr2020-145-nac-andrade.pdf

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2020/comp-pr2020-145-abramoff.pdf