US authorities have arrested Rodney Burton and charged him with allegedly defrauding more than $7 million through a fake investment scheme, according to allegations filed by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on January 5.
Burton, also known as “Bitcoin Rodney,” was charged in Maryland for allegedly promoting the HyperVerse cryptocurrency investment program, court filings show. HyperVerse, also known as Hyperfund, HyperCapital and HyperNation, was a one-man organization founded around June 2020, the filing said.
“A network of HyperFund promoters, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere, made fraudulent promotions to investors and potential investors,” according to the filing by Andrew J. Accardi, a special agent in the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. “HyperFund falsely claimed that investors who purchased Memberships would receive between 0.5% to 1% per day in passive rewards until HyperFund doubled or tripled the investor’s initial investment.”
Burton alleges he received 562 wire transfers or bank checks totaling $7,851,711 from individuals. He was arrested Friday in Florida and will be transported to Maryland.
The HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme led to thousands of people losing millions of dollars, according to a Guardian Australia investigation last month. The scheme was run by an entity called HyperTech and was promoted and managed by CEO Steven Rhys-Lewis, who apparently does not exist, according to the newspaper.
Australian Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said he will ask the country’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) why consumers were not warned about the HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme, unlike other countries.
The US Treasury, the IRS and Barton’s public defense team did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Sandali Handagama contributed reporting.