President Donald Trump has assigned an official task force to investigate the pervasive fraud within the cryptocurrency industry.
On Thursday, the president signed an executive order for a new task force within the Department of Justice with a mandate “to investigate and prosecute crimes of fraud committed against the U.S. Government or the American people, recover the proceeds of such crimes, and ensure just and effective punishment of those who perpetrate crimes of fraud.”
Among the task force’s members are FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will also be called upon for guidance.
The group’s primary goal is to investigate financial fraud levied not only against the government, but against the consumer and financial markets as well, according to the executive order. The committee is tasked with investigating cyber-fraud and any other fraud that affects the general public.
That includes digital currency fraud, according to the order. That could potentially involve anything from the notorious “pump and dump” schemes that are common to initial coin offerings (ICOs), to counterfeit cryptocurrency giveaways, to illegitimate companies attempting to swindle token investors.
While the president’s stance on cryptocurrencies isn’t completely clear, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has publicly spoken out in favor of digital currencies, reportedly going so far as to suggest the creation of his own currency, called the “Deplorables Coin.”
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