Joshua David Nicholas – a resident of Florida – now faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in Federal prison as he has pleaded guilty that he and other members of the cryptocurrency platform “EmpiresX” scammed investors of almost $100 million worth of digital assets.

Last month, the United States authorities brought another criminal crew from the Florida region to justice. The Miami citizens (Esteban Cabrera Da Corte, Luis Hernandez Gonzalez and Asdrubal Ramirez Meza) could spend up to 30 years in jail for defrauding financial institutions and a cryptocurrency platform of more than $4 million.

The US Department of Justice’s statement revealed that Joshua David Nicholas was the “Head Trader” for EmpiresX, which was promoted as a cryptocurrency platform that offered guaranteed returns to unsuspecting investors. However, the trading venture was a scam that ripped investors of more than $100 million worth of digital assets. Nicholas and his colleagues lied to users that the company used artificial and human intelligence to maximize profit.

The criminal leader of the scam platform has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Since he admitted his crimes, he will face a maximum sentence of five years in a Federal penitentiary. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled as the judge will use the United States Sentencing Guidelines to consider the final decision before announcing it.

EmpiresX was not registered with the appropriate financial regulators and never even took any steps to acquire the necessary operational licenses while operating as a ponzi scheme. Law enforcement agents asked all affected users to go to the official website of the US Department of Justice and identify themselves as victims of the scam. From there, they will submit an impact statement and get more information on how to be reimbursed.

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