"Thought Life's A Video Game...": Crypto Fraudster Jailed For $90 Million Swindle

The judge said the sentence was intended to discourage others from similar crimes and to protect the public from Mr Qin, who had no trouble lying to his investors.

Stefan Qin's investors thought they'd found a sure thing -- a hedge fund that was generating 500 per cent returns by exploiting the price gaps between cryptocurrencies on 40 exchanges throughout the world.

Instead, the 24-year-old self-proclaimed math whiz used their money on a lavish lifestyle, including a $23,000-a-month Manhattan penthouse apartment, and failed investments in initial coin offerings and real estate. Federal prosecutors said Qin defrauded more than 100 people out of about $90 million.

After some of his victims said Qin should spend as long as possible behind bars for securities fraud, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni sentenced him Wednesday to seven and a half years and called him "a potentially very dangerous person."

Mr Qin "deliberately and consciously chose a path" to rip off investors, including fake account statements and lying to clients about how he was using their money, Ms Caproni said. "This kind of white collar crime is just as devastating to victims as other types of crime, and it will be punished severely."