Jarryd Hayne – a former NRL superstar – has supposedly parted ways with $780,000 after falling prey to a Bitcoin scam. The athlete, who was sentenced to prison for allegedly raping a woman, was deceived by a fellow prisoner.
The scammer is currently in jail after being accused of defrauding family and friends of $4.6 million in a Ponzi scheme.
Scammed even behind bars
As reported per Daily Mail, the person responsible for the Bitcoin fraud was Ishan Seenar Sappideen, who met Hayne in prison in Cooma, Australia. The former promised a large return on investment linked to the main cryptocurrency to the former rugby player and other inmates. To present himself as an expert in the field, he claimed to have already won nearly $300 million for clients.
Six fellow inmates, including Hayne, have bitten the hook and transferred more than $2 million between 2020 and 2022. The funds were sent by people outside the prison to accounts controlled by Sappideen due to lack of access in line in the establishment.
Despite a settlement that protects his six-figure investment, the location of Hayne’s funds remains unknown.
Australian law enforcement arranged for Sappideen to be transferred to another correctional facility following reports of his alleged fraud.
“Earlier this year, CSNSW intelligence officers became aware of allegations that an inmate at Cooma Correctional Center was attempting to coerce and counsel other inmates to trade in the financial markets.
The accused inmate (…) has since had his security classification revised to allow for a higher level of supervision and less liberty. CSNSW refers suspected criminal activity to the Police Corrections Intelligence Unit, which shares intelligence with relevant state and federal law enforcement,” a spokeswoman added.
Hayne, who became rugby world champion with Australia in 2013, was charged with aggravated sexual assault on a woman at Newcastle in 2019. He was recently found guilty of two counts of sex without consent and sentenced to spend at least three years in prison. .
Other Athletes Victims of a Crypto Scam
Brazilian soccer players – Gustavo Scarpa, Mayke Rocha de Oliveira and Willian Bigode – have also put their names on the list of athletes lured by cryptocurrency scammers. They collectively lost more than $5 million after investing in an alleged fraudulent company called Xland.
“I’ve always seen stupid people fall victim to pyramid schemes and scams. Finding myself in such a situation is horrible,” Scarpa said.
Interestingly, Bigode allegedly participated in the scam. He denied the charges, recalling that he is also a victim of the scheme, losing more than 3.3 million dollars.
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