The man who was known as the “coyote of Wall Street” will soon find himself behind bars. 46-year-old Patrick McConnell pleaded guilty in a Staten Island Court on June 21 to one count of wire fraud, Bloomberg reported.
McConnell was first apprehended back in late March when he was charged with fraud related to what prosecutors described as a scheme to defraud investors. According to the charges, he made a number of false promises to customers using fabricated balance statements to lure them into the scheme.
McConnell, who also used the alias Jason Flack, had been running a company called CabbageTech Corporation. They also went by the name Coin Drop Markets. Going as far back as 2016, McConnell had claimed that his business conducted over $50 million in trades and had over 8,000 investors.
Things began to unfold for the New York resident when a man he had defrauded of over $164,000 filed charges after McConnell requested another $274,000. It was then discovered that he had spent over $194,000 of money that investors had given to him. McConnell ran the scheme out of his home.
Last year, McConnell was one of a number of cryptocurrency promoters who was sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) among other regulators. Phillip Bartlett, the special agent in charge, explained that several agencies were on to McConnell. “Postal Inspectors and their federal law enforcement partners unmasked McDonnell and his scheme to defraud investors, and brought him to justice for his alleged criminal actions.”
It was then determined by a judge in Brooklyn that the “head” of CabbageTech Corporation had used a number of deceptions to steal money from investors, and was ordered to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, as well as $871,000 in penalties.
The original charges could have led to up to 20 years of prison time, but the deal allows McConnell to plead guilty to just one charge of fraud. That holds a maximum sentence of up to 2-½ years in prison.
In a statement, Richard Donoghue, who is the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, explained briefly how McConnell had used high-tech methods to defraud his investors. “McDonnell has admitted that he used old-fashioned deception to defraud investors seeking to trade 21st-century currencies.”
In open court, McConnell openly admitted to his criminal activity. “I perpetrated a fraud,” the 46-year-old told U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis. “I claimed to invest it in virtual currency and spent it on personal expenses.”
“The defendant’s fraud ends now, he will be held responsible for his criminal conduct,” Bartlett explained at the time the charges were filed. It now appears that will be the reality. He will be sentenced on September 10th.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.
