Former New Jersey Corrections Officer Charged for Crypto Scam Targeting Police Officers and First Responders

A Former New Jersey Correctional Officer Has Been Charged With Cryptocurrency Fraud

John A. DeSalvo, a former lieutenant from the New Jersey Department of Corrections, has been accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of orchestrating a cryptocurrency scam that specifically aimed at police officers and first responders. The scheme involved his own token, Blazar.

According to the SEC notice on August 23, DeSalvo reportedly sold his Blazar coin between November 2021 and May 2022 to raise $623,388 from 222 investors.

DeSalvo claimed that Blazar, with its substantial returns, would take the place of the current state-run pension programmes for police, firefighters, and paramedics. He explained to potential investors that payroll deductions, similar to contributions to pension schemes, might be used to acquire the token.

Despite the fact that the token was never registered, DeSalvo fraudulently claimed that Blazar had secured SEC registration. DeSalvo sold 41 billion Blazar tokens on the PancakeSwap market in May 2022, crushing the token’s value by almost 99.9% despite early claims of a lock-up period.

The SEC alleges that this massive sell-off led to the collapse of the token’s value and substantial investor losses.

Along with civil fines and the return of profits, the SEC is requesting a permanent injunction against DeSalvo to stop him from taking part in security offerings.