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January 24, 2023 32 mins
This week, we meet the online influencers who enticed victims into the BitConnect farce, and the pyramid-scheme model that allowed them to make millions doing it.  "Crypto Crooks" is sponsored by Chainalysis. It takes a village to scam the world. Or at least some YouTube channels.  In the penultimate episode of “Crypto Crooks: BitConnect,” we talk to Scott Shaffer, who kept close tabs on the BitConnect team both before and after the collapse on his YouTube Channel, “Crypto Jedi.” He watched a series of charismatic, powerful YouTubers invite viewers into their pyramid scheme, getting richer with every fish they caught. And ultimately, he watched their greatest coup of all: turning their victims … into scammers themselves.  Clips:  BitConnect Annual Ceremony 2017 What happened to Carlos Matos and Bitconnect? TREVON JAMES: MY FINAL BITCONNECT RANT!  THE TRUTH About BitConnect, CryptoNick, Trevon James, and Craig Grant  - Chainalysis is the blockchain data platform. We provide data, software, services, and research to government agencies, Web3 companies, financial institutions, and insurance and cybersecurity companies. Our data powers investigation, compliance, and business intelligence software that has been used to solve some of the world’s most high-profile criminal cases. For more information, visit www.chainalysis.com. - “Crypto Crooks” is a CoinDesk Podcast Production. The executive producer is Jared Schwartz, with additional production by Eleanor Pahl, Rob Mitchell, Nora Battelle, Jonas Huck, and Moon Beast. Fact-checking is by Amber Von Schassen, and sound design and music are by Altus Noumena. This show is written and voiced by David Z. Morris. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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