Bitcoiin insider and top promoter John DeMarr has been arrested
‘for his alleged participation in a coordinated cryptocurrency and securities fraud scheme’
.

DeMarr’s indictment details one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

The
DOJ’s complaint against DeMarr
groups Bitcoiin and Start Options together as one fraudulent scheme.

Bitcoiin had previously done business under different corporate names, including the name “Start Options” in or about the fall of 2017.

DeMarr’s official BitCoiin title was Director of North American Operations.

As detailed in our coverage of the SEC’s lawsuit against DeMarr, his primary role within Bitcoiin was to “attract US investors”.

Both Start Options and Bitcoiin represented external revenue was generated via mining and trading – which was baloney.

BehindMLM reviewed Start Options in September 2017. Based on its business model, we identified it as a Ponzi scheme.

BehindMLM’s Start Options review
is referenced in the DOJ’s complaint as an uncredited “blog post”.

The defendant JOHN DEMARR was alerted as early as December 2017 that Start Options was not a legitimate business.

On or about December 18, 2017, a Start Options promoter sent DEMARR an email that copied portions of a blog post written by a Start Options investor entitled “UPDATE ON THE STARTOPTIONS.COM SCAM!”

The blog post described, in sum and substance, how Start Options was not operating out of its purported address in the Philippines and was “not a real business.”

Later that day, DEMARR forwarded the email to Individual-1 and wrote, “See below- we need to fix this or this guy will hurt us! Call me.”

“Individual-1” is Start Options and Bitcoiin owner, Kristijan Krstic.

Despite BehindMLM’s
published research
, investors dumped millions into Start Options and Bitcoiin.

In or about approximately December 2017, Start Options began receiving substantial Bitcoin inflows from investors to a digital wallet controlled by Individual-1.

In or about and between December 1, 2017 and January 26, 2018, investors sent approximately $2.9 million worth of Bitcoin and another cryptocurrency to that digital wallet and to an account controlled by Individual-1 at a cryptocurrency exchange.

Investors, the majority of whom were based in the United States (including ones located in the Eastern District of New York), also sent approximately $1.3 million in U.S. dollars to a bank account controlled by the defendant JOHN DEMARR in the United States during the same period.

Beginning in or about January 2018, investors in Start Options had difficulty accessing the personal account page as well as redeeming their Start Options investments.

When there were issues with investors’ accounts, the defendant JOHN DEMARR would forward investors’ emails to Individual-1 or “Sasha Bjelov.”

Sasha Bjelov was a pseudonym used by one of Kristijan Krstic’s accomplices.

Start Options investors were not permitted to withdraw money and were instead forced to roll ove

🤖 Quick Answer

Who is John DeMarr and what are the charges against him?
John DeMarr, former Director of North American Operations at Bitcoiin, was arrested for alleged participation in a coordinated cryptocurrency and securities fraud scheme. He faces one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, accused of attracting US investors to fraudulent operations involving Bitcoiin and Start Options.

What was the relationship between Bitcoiin and Start Options?
Bitcoiin and Start Options operated as a unified fraudulent scheme. Bitcoiin previously conducted business under the Start Options corporate name around fall 2017. Both entities falsely represented that external revenue derived from cryptocurrency mining and trading activities.

What was DeMarr's role in the alleged fraud?
DeMarr served as Director of North American Operations for Bitcoiin. His primary responsibility involved attracting United States-based investors to the scheme, which involved misrepresenting revenue sources and fraudulent cryptocurrency operations

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