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Criminal Cryptocurrency Boss Jailed For 11,196 Years In Turkey For Fraud
By SCARS Editorial Team, portions BBC
Criminal Boss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year Sentence
The Outcome
The Thodex cryptocurrency boss is Faruk Fatih Özer. He was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison by a Turkish court on charges of “establishing, managing and being a member of an organization,” “qualified fraud,” and “laundering of property values.”
Özer founded Thodex cryptocurrency exchange in 2017 and it quickly became one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey. In April 2021, Thodex abruptly halted withdrawals and Özer fled the country, allegedly with millions of dollars in cryptocurrency belonging to users.
Özer was arrested in Albania in August 2022 and extradited to Turkey in April 2023. He was found guilty of the charges against him and sentenced to 11,196 years in prison.
According to the BBC:
Faruk Fatih Ozer, 29, fled to Albania in 2021 with investor assets after his Thodex cryptocurrency exchange suddenly collapsed.
He was extradited back to Turkey in June and found guilty of money-laundering, fraud and organised crime.
Ozer told the court he would “not have acted so amateurishly” if his intent was criminal, state media reported.
“I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth,” the Anadolu agency quoted him as saying.
“That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22.”
The brief trial in Istanbul also found his sister Serap and brother Guven guilty of the same charges.
Turkish news agencies said that the defendants were sentenced separately for multiple crimes against 2,027 victims, leading to the total number of years in the judgement.
Such extraordinary prison sentences are common in Turkey since the abolition of the death penalty in 2004.
About The Theodex Cryptocurrency Exchange
Thodex was a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 by Faruk Fatih Özer. It quickly became one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey, with over 400,000 users.
In April 2021, Thodex abruptly halted withdrawals and Özer fled the country, allegedly with millions of dollars in cryptocurrency belonging to users. The Turkish government launched an investigation into the matter and froze Thodex’s assets.
Özer was arrested in Albania in August 2022 and extradited to Turkey in April 2023. He was found guilty of the charges against him and sentenced to 11,196 years in prison.
About Faruk Fatih Özer – Cryptocurrency Wizard?
- He was born in 1994 in Kocaeli, Turkey.
- He dropped out of high school and started his own business at the age of 16.
- He founded Thodex in 2017.
- He is a self-described “financial & cryptocurrency whizz.”
- He is a friend of several prominent Turkish politicians.
- He is married and has two children.
- He is currently in prison in Turkey.
The Criminal Case
Özer has denied the charges against him and has said that he will appeal the verdict. However, the evidence against him is strong and it is unlikely that he will be able to avoid a long prison sentence.
Lessons Learned
The lessons that can be learned from the Thodex cryptocurrency scandal:
- Do your research before investing in any cryptocurrency exchange.
- Only invest money that you can afford to lose.
- Be wary of any exchange that offers unrealistic returns.
- Be suspicious of any exchange that is not regulated by a government agency.
- If you think you have been scammed, report it to the authorities immediately.
The Thodex scandal was a major blow to the Turkish cryptocurrency industry and it has raised concerns about the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges in the country.
The Thodex scandal is a reminder that the cryptocurrency industry is still in its early stages and that there is a risk of fraud and scams. Investors should be careful when investing in cryptocurrencies and should only do so with money that they can afford to lose.
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Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and not to blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and help victims avoid scams in the future. At times, this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims; we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens, and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
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