Man Sentenced to 23 Years in $20M Crypto Fraud Case

A federal judge in Chicago sentenced Robert Dunlap, a 55-year-old man from Houston, Texas, to 23 years in prison on Tuesday for his role in a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that defrauded nearly 1,000 investors of more than $20 million. The case centered on Meta1 Coin, a fictional digital token Dunlap promoted through a trust structure from 2018 to 2023.

U.S. District Judge LaShonda Hunt imposed the sentence following Dunlap's conviction in November on two counts of mail fraud in the Northern District of Illinois. Each count carried a maximum penalty of 20 years. The court also ordered Dunlap to pay restitution to victims, though officials have not specified the total amount recoverable. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago described the scheme as elaborate and unrepentant, noting that Dunlap's false statements escalated over time.

Authorities said Dunlap and his co-conspirators, including Nicole Bowdler and former Washington state Senator David Schmidt, marketed Meta1 Coin as a secure investment. They claimed the token was backed by $1 billion in fine art, including works by Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and Salvador Dalí, as well as $44 billion in gold...