The CEO of a defunct cryptocurrency business in Turkey received a sentence of more than 11,000 years in prison.
Even though a year in prison can seem like a lengthy time, Faruk Fatih Özer has been sentenced to one of the longest prison terms in human history.
One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the nation, Thodex, was run by Özer.
Because digital currency is “widely used to protect savings from the sky-high inflation and the steep devaluation of the lira,” according to EuroNews, cryptocurrencies are particularly popular in Turkey.
Dexerto claims that Özer left Turkey after taking $2 billion from clients after Thodex failed in 2021.
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When Thodex abruptly went offline, nearly 400,000 users were unable to access their accounts, and officials launched a huge search to locate Özer.
He was even given a red notice by Interpol.
Retaliating to accusations that he had embezzled billions from his devoted following, Özer announced that Thodex had been temporarily shut down to allow for the investigation of a cyberattack.
In addition, he refuted rumors that he had left Turkey, saying that he was simply gone for business meetings and would return in a few days to respond to inquiries from the police.
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He was not discovered in Albania until 2022, at which point he was extradited back to his native nation to face charges of money laundering, fraud, and directing a criminal organization.
Özer’s defense, according to state media, was that if he had been attempting to commit a crime, he would not have behaved so “amatuerish.”
He told the Anadolu agency, “I am intelligent enough to lead any institution on Earth.”
“This company, which I founded at the age of 22, is proof of that.”
It appears that the courts disagreed, though.
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A little over 2,027 victims were named by the prosecution, and they asserted that Özer was held accountable for his actions.
In addition to serving 11,196 years, 10 months, and 15 years in jail, he was also ordered to pay a fine of 135 million Turkish Liras, or $5 million, in the United States.
Özer’s brother Guven and sister Serap were found guilty and given the same punishments.
Even though a woman in Thailand holds the record for the longest sentence ever given, more than 11,000 years in prison may not seem like it.
Chamoy Thipyaso conned almost 16,000 people in a $204 million pyramid scheme before receiving a 141,078 year sentence.
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