A Texas man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded nearly 1,000 investors of $20 million. Robert Dunlap, convicted of mail fraud, promoted the fictional Meta-1 Coin as being backed by a $1 billion art collection and $44 billion in gold. The U.S. District Judge also ordered him to pay restitution to victims.
Robert Dunlap was sentenced to 23 years behind bars by U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt. He was also ordered to pay restitution to victims of the fraud, according to the Illinois U.S. Attorney’s office. Assistant U.S. attorneys stated in a sentencing memorandum that Dunlap was “unrepentant” and that his lies grew “over the years.”
A federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois convicted Dunlap in November on two counts of mail fraud. He was accused of conspiring to sell the Meta-1 Coin from 2018 to 2023 through a trust, making false statements to investors.
Dunlap claimed the token was backed by a $1 billion art collection with works by Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh and $44 billion in gold. He and co-conspirators used automated trading bots to artificially inflate the coin’s market price and volume on a website he created.
In March 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered an asset freeze against Dunlap and alleged accomplices. The defendants told investors the coin was risk-free and could offer returns of up to 224,923%, according to authorities.
The coins were never distributed, and funds were used for personal expenses and luxury cars, including a Ferrari. Prosecutors emphasized that the sentence sends a message about serious repercussions for such fraudulent conduct.
