Runaway Turkish Crypto Boss Slapped With 40,000-Year Jail Sentence For Theft

A Turkish CEO who incited a worldwide manhunt after defrauding clients and creating his own criminal organization has finally been apprehended in Albania. 

Fatih Ozer was the founder of the cryptocurrency firm, Thodex. The company was founded in 2017 and quickly garnered a clientele of 700,000 users. Before the crypto crash, e-currency was a way to safeguard against inflation.

Thodex eventually hit a wall with liquidity problems and was not able to pay people back the money they were demanding.

Ozer has been accused of tricking users into purchasing a new crypto coin before running off with US$2 billion stolen from over 400,000 users. For the last year, he has been on the run, evading authorities at every turn. He was caught after immigration in Albania confirmed his identity through biometric facial recognition.

While a criminal story of fraud may not seem like anything new, Ozer’s case takes an interesting twist as Turkish authorities are potentially about to serve up a 40,564-year-long sentence for each of the 21 individuals involved in the case. 

A statement from the Interior Ministry states that the extradition of Ozer has already begun. However, it’s unclear if such a ridiculously long sentence will actually be given.

[via Futurism and Bloomberg, Photo 164892566 © Spaxia | Dreamstime.com]