On 5 January 2019, U.S. news outlet Wood-TV reported that a Michigan-based technology hub had its office raided by the country’s federal agencies in December 2018. The office belonged to the National Science Institute or previously knows as the Geek Group, which is a non-profitable educational organization aimed to provide technology-related opportunities.
It was reported that Chris Boden, the founder of the group, made a live public statement regarding the raid on YouTube, which was later deleted. He stated in his message that on 21 December 2018, his office was raided by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Various equipment was taken from the office such as computers and hard drives.
Boden further elaborated that the reason behind the raid was because he was involved in unauthorized trading in cryptocurrency and believed that he faced federal prison time and legal expanses of up to $100,000. Additionally, assets related to the business which included the building would be sold off as well.
Originally the founder made a Facebook post on 6 January 2019 stating he would be writing another live public statement in an open Google Doc. However, it is believed that the decision was changed, as currently the document read that he will not be commenting further on the government’s investigations on the case after seeking advice from legal counsel.
Various cases of crypto-related firms being targeted by the government had been occurring throughout the year 2018, most of them related to fraud and scams. Last month, Vlad Nistor, the CEO of major Romanian crypto exchange Coinflux was arrested in the city of Cluj on a warrant issued by the U.S. for fraud. Back in August 2018, a South Korean firm which was suspected to scam its investors by promising them spoils of a sunken Russian warship was also raided by the local police force.
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