Pickering (February 28, 2020) – The Durham Regional Police arrested Eric Hentschel from Pickering on February 19 in connection with the ‘Alepy’ cryptocurrency scam. Police alleged that Hentschel sold his fraudulent cryptocurrency ‘Alepy’ to investors and then vanished. To date, the police identified two investors in the fraudulent Bitcoin alternative with a total loss of $51,000. Hentschel is facing fraud charges and possession of proceeds of crime.
The Durham Regional Police announced the arrest of Eric Hentschel of Chapman Court in Pickering on February 19 after a lengthy investigation into the Alepy cryptocurrency scam, according to a press release.
The Alepy cryptocurrency scam
The police accused the 31-year-old Hentschel of selling a fraudulent cryptocurrency, called Alepy, to investors. He is alleged of giving a number of presentations to potential investors in the summer months of 2017. During the presentations, he was promoting his startup cryptocurrency alternative to Bitcoin. Police say, he was seeking investors for Alepy.
Reportedly, the Pickering man provided certificates of investments to his financiers and promised them a cryptocurrency e-wallet with which they could access their crypto funds online. However, after he received the money, the Alepy cryptocurrency website was shut down, according to the police. To date, the authorities identified two victims, who lost a total of $51,000 in the crypto scam.
Pickering man charged with fraud
After a lengthy investigation, Hentschel has been charged with Fraud Over $5,000, Fraud Under $5,000, and Possession of Proceeds of Crime. He was released on an Undertaking.
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Anyone with new information about this investigation is asked to contact Det. Hawkes of the West Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 2528. Anyone who wishes to inquire fraud recovery information on their own case, or wishes to report fraud with whistleblower protection, please contact D. Slenys at 416-637-3151 or dslenys@investigationcounsel.com. Tipsters may be eligible for a $2,000 cash reward.
