NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A Colorado man pleaded guilty Thursday in what authorities in New Jersey said was a $722 million cryptocurrency mining scheme.
Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks of Arvada, Colorado, pleaded guilty by videoconference to one count each of tax evasion and conspiracy to sell unregistered securities.
Weeks was one of five people indicted last December who were connected to the BitClub Network, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Mining involves using computers to solve mathematical problems in order to record virtual currency transactions. Miners receive cryptocurrency for their work. But authorities said the earnings reported by BitClub Network were false.
Weeks solicited investors for the network, which wasn’t registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and instructed investors in the United States to use a private network to avoid detection by U.S. law enforcement, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Weeks also failed to report more than $10 million in income earned between 2015 and 2018, authorities said.
A message seeking comment was left with his attorney Thursday.
He faces a maximum of five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced in March.
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