Longmont-based man charged by feds in Bitcoin Ponzi scheme

A Longmont man has been charged by the federal government with running a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme, defrauding hundreds of investors for $1.1 million.

Dillon Dean and his company The Entrepreneurs Headquarters (TEH) were formally charged by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week. The government agency alleges that Dean, through TEH, conducted a "fraudulent Ponzi-style" scheme, misappropriated funds and failed to register with the CFTC "in any capacity."

Dean did not respond to requests for comment. Due to the government shutdown, officials for the CFTC could not be reached, according to a recorded message greeting callers to the agency.

More than 600 investors gave at least $1.1 million worth of Bitcoin to TEH,which promised that it would be pooled and invested in various options. The CFTC claims that, rather than investing, Dean used the funds to pay other investors, "in the manner of a Ponzi scheme."

Read more: http://www.timescall.com/boulder-business/ci_31611744/longmont-based-man-charged-by-feds-bitcoin-ponzi