USFIA founder Steve Chen has died in prison.

Following a guilty plea entered back in 2020, Chen was
sentenced to to ten years in prison
in 2021.

The Bureau of Prison’s inmate search function reveals Chen, 65, died on November 19th. Chen’s cause of death is unknown.

Chen, who also went by Li Chen and “Boss”, launched USFIA in 2013. USFIA operated from California and primarily targeted the Asian-American community.

BehindMLM
reviewed USFIA
in 2015, correctly identifying it as a “GemCoin” Ponzi points scheme.

A few months after the review was published,
the SEC shut down USFIA
.

Initial reaction from USFIA investors saw them
call for the assassination
of two cooperating victims.

The SEC originally
pegged USFIA investor damages at $32 million
. A then ongoing investigation by a court appointed Receiver saw that amount
blow out to $180 million
.

In 2017 Chen and USFIA, under Receivership control,
settled the SEC’s civil fraud charges
for $200 million.

When exactly the DOJ began investigating USFIA and Chen is unclear. In February 2020 however, it was revealed
Chen had pled guilty
to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.

Chen’s prison sentenced was handed down on January 11th, 2021.

Victim losses aside, Chen’s brand of MLM Ponzi is fondly remembered for the sheriff and law enforcement cosplay at USFIA events.

At
one USFIA event held in September 2015
, Chen’s bouncers dressed up as police officers with matching badged uniforms:

Chen, who was armed, presented himself as the Sheriff of GemCoin:

USFIA will also go down as one of the first major MLM crypto Ponzi busts in the US.

Whereas today what’s left of most of the crypto industry in general is written off as fraud, back in 2015 it was still the wild west. There were plenty of suckers for enterprising crypto bros to fleece.

OneCoin was in its relative infancy and Dubai was yet to establish itself as the financial crime den it is today.

Unfortunately we don’t really get MLM Ponzi characters like Chen anymore.

Leading the MLM crypto Ponzi space today are aging nobodies who’ve otherwise achieved nothing meaningful in life. They ride the dregs of crypto “tech” whilst mostly hiding out in Dubai.

As MLM crypto Ponzi business models have become indistinguishably braindead, so too have the scammers behind them.

2013 to 2015 was certainly a different time. Here’s to you Mr. Chen.

🤖 Quick Answer

Who was Steve Chen and what was USFIA?
Steve Chen, also known as Li Chen or "Boss," founded USFIA in 2013, a Ponzi scheme operating from California targeting the Asian-American community. He was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2021 following a guilty plea and died in custody on November 19th at age 65.

How was USFIA identified as fraudulent?
BehindMLM identified USFIA as a "GemCoin" Ponzi points scheme in a 2015 review. Following this publication, the SEC shut down the operation within months, discovering approximately $32 million in investor damages from the scheme's illicit operations.

What was the outcome for USFIA investors?
The SEC estimated total investor losses at $32 million. Some initial reactions from defrauded investors resulted in concerning calls for violence against cooperating witnesses

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