Fears develop that Fun Coffee crypto rip-off duped over 1,000 as losses mount in Hong Kong

A Hong Kong lawmaker has warned that an unfolding crypto rip-off run by a espresso funding enterprise based mostly in Vietnam might contain greater than 1,000 victims, as an investor reported losses of HK$14 million (US$1.73 million) throughout her staff.

The warning got here as police mentioned that complete reported losses tied to the syndicate working as Fun Coffee have climbed to HK$104 million, with 225 complaints obtained since final month.

Six individuals earlier arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud – a person and 5 girls aged 51 to 64 – have been launched on bail on Wednesday, the drive mentioned.

Legislator Johnny Ng Kit-chong on Wednesday mentioned that he had obtained round 50 in-person appeals since final week, representing tons of of alleged victims. He mentioned it might not be stunning if the entire variety of victims exceeded 1,000.

One investor, who didn’t disclose her title, mentioned she was launched by a good friend to participate in brief promotional movies, with every three-minute clip marketed as paying HK$7,000.

In apply, she mentioned, the charge needed to be cut up among the many filming and modifying crew, leaving her with solely HK$700 to HK$1,000 for every shoot.

In October, she was advised that Fun Coffee had launched an app that allowed customers to earn returns via investments in USDT, a US dollar-pegged cryptocurrency. She invested greater than HK$100,000 on the platform.