San Francisco:. The US authorities has taken roughly USD56 million in cryptocurrency from a self-described "number one promoter" of BitConnect, a cryptocurrency. This is the country's largest ever seizure of cryptocurrency. The US Justice Department plans to auction the coins and use the revenue to compensate victims.

Glenn Arcaro, 44, of Los Angeles, pled guilty to participating in a large scheme to defraud BitConnect investors in the United States and internationally, according to court filings, in which investors were fraudulently enticed to invest over USD2 billion.

According to the Department of Justice, the BitConnect conspiracy is the largest bitcoin fraud scheme ever prosecuted criminally.The government will keep the confiscated funds in cryptocurrency wallets and will utilise them to pay compensation to the victims in accordance with a future restitution order issued by the court at sentencing.Arcaro faces a maximum term of 20 years in jail when he is convicted on January 7, 2022.  While BitConnect was primarily a Bitcoin exchange, the US government intends to compensate victims in US dollars.

The US Postal Service's law enforcement arm will assist in the conversion of bitcoin to fiat currency. According to the announcement, the government has put up a website for victims seeking compensation.

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