US authorities have reportedly launched a manhunt to arrest a German man accused of crypto fraud worth $150 million.
Horst Jicha skipped a scheduled appearance in federal court in Brooklyn earlier this month and is now on the run, according to a recent report from CNBC.
Earlier this year, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged Jicha with committing securities fraud and conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering for his alleged facilitation of a multilevel marketing crypto program called USI Tech.
Jicha reportedly posted $1 million in cash to authorities to secure his bail, and a spokesperson for the prosecutor in the case tells CNBC they plan to obtain the additional $4 million bail that was guaranteed by Jicha’s family and a handful of other people.
A prosecutor also reportedly told the judge in the case that authorities suspect Jicha tampered with his ankle monitor. His trial is scheduled for March 31.
Jicha is said to have brought USI Tech to the US in 2017 and marketed it through social media and in-person presentations.
Federal prosecutors say USI Tech abruptly shut down its U.S. operations after facing regulatory scrutiny in early 2018, leaving investors staring at millions of dollars in losses.
Jicha fled the US after shutting down USI Tech’s operations in the country and managed to stay away for half a decade until he was arrested in December 2023 while trying to vacation in Miami.
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