Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of 13 years, but the judge refused. According to him, it has been proven that 52-year-old Randall Crater has been guilty of marketing fraud, including by stating that My Big Coin was backed by gold and had a partnership with MasterCard. “Certainly, cryptocurrency is a newer market, a 21st century market,” said the judge. “But the plan was essentially age-old: fraud.”
Crater is expected to appeal. “It was not my intention to steal money from anyone,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m not sorry.”