A Texas man has been found guilty of federal fraud charges after orchestrating a massive cryptocurrency scam that cost 1,000 investors more than $14 million, according to court documents.
Robert Dunlap, 54, was convicted Monday by a Chicago jury on two counts of mail fraud, charges that together carry a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors said Dunlap promoted a digital currency known as “Meta-1 Coin” through an entity called the Meta-1 Coin Trust, convincing investors that the token was backed by enormous real-world assets. He claimed the coin had financial support from $44 billion in gold—allegedly audited and certified by an accounting firm—and a $1 billion art collection supposedly featuring works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Vincent van Gogh.
Authorities said Dunlap forged legal and insurance documents to bolster these claims and used bots to artificially inflate the coin’s price within the so-called “Meta Marketplace.”
Dunlap is scheduled to be sentenced on February 17.
