South Korean authorities are reportedly investigating several people associated to a mining company, on concerns of conducting a large cryptocurrency mining scam. According to local media, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office has filed charges against the people linked to this firm. The company targeted by authorities is Mining Max.

21 people associated to Mining Max were indicted

Local media revealed that a total of 21 people associated with Mining Max have been indicated by the authorities. The individuals were accused of fraud and asking 270 billion won from investors for a cryptocurrency mining operation that was allegedly going to bring them large returns. The individuals targeted investors from all over the world.

Another three individuals were indicted for embezzlement, among other charges, but no arrests took place. Seven other people were considered to be co-conspirators in the case, including the chairman of Mining Max and the company's vice chairman. The seven people named here were placed on Interpol's wanted list, as they actually went into hiding.

Mining Max allegedly cheated thousands of investors

The scam was first exposed a couple of days ago, when it was revealed that Mining Max has cheated thousands of investors, who lost millions of dollars. Initial concerns on Mining Max's activity emerged in June, when a media outlet published an article raising questions on whether it was a scam.

Mining Max's platform summed a total of 18,000 investors from 54 countries. Mining Max promised investors that it would mine cryptocurrencies from different blockchains and would offer them the possibility to invest in digital currencies that would give them the highest returns. The mining farm was established in Seoul.

In fact, Mining Max functioned as a pyramid scheme. In order to become members, users had to pay and they received some compensation when recruiting new members. Reportedly, the scam ended up costing investors no less than $250 million. Part of the sum, about $80 million, was spent on mining hardware.

Some reports claimed that most likely around $110 million were placed in offshore accounts. The rest until $250 million were probably used to pay high-end investors.