In a staggering scam, prosecutors estimate that more than 1,200 people lost a total of 800 million New Taiwan dollars (about $24.56 million). According to the prosecution, the suspects persuaded investors to buy NFTC tokens, Bitenature coins, mochange (a token created by ACE Exchange) and other tokens since 2019. They are also accused of creating white papers and other materials to make their plans seem legitimate.

In addition to introducing the tokens, Pan and Lin also promised to make ACE Exchange Asia’s leading crypto trading ecosystem. However, many investors saw their tokens lose significant value. When the investors in question realized they were unable to convert their tokens into New Taiwan Dollars as promised, they filed a complaint, triggering a criminal investigation.

According to authorities, the suspects engaged in a two-pronged scheme to defraud investors. First, they aggressively promoted the tokens on various media channels and manipulated exchange prices to create illusions. Then, after selling these tokens and other blockchain products for a total of more than 2.2 billion New Taiwan Dollars (approximately US$72.54 million), prosecutors alleged that the suspects concealed the money in various locations, including a real estate purchase in Yilan County. they accused.

Prosecutors also allege Wang received approximately 43 million New Taiwan Dollars (about US$1.3 million) despite being named in the scheme. They allege that Wang attempted to manipulate the market by depositing 26 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately US$791,000) back into the exchange to raise token prices.

Given the seriousness of the fraud and the number of victims, prosecutors recommended prison sentences of at least 20 years for the key suspects, including Pan and Lin. Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of at least 12 years for Wang, given his status as an executive at a well-known law firm and his role in facilitating the fraud.

Earlier this month, authorities charged Pan and six others over a crypto scam involving $10.7 million worth of digital assets.

In this case, investigators revealed that the Ace Exchange founder founded an offshore trading platform that offers a crypto wallet service called “Alfred Wallet.” This service allegedly encourages unsuspecting victims to deposit their funds. But investors lost access to them as soon as they deposited their funds.

The trading platform claimed that Pan was a former manager whose activity on the exchange ended in 2022.