Clucoin Founder Sentenced to 27 Months for $1.14M Crypto Fraud

The founder of Clucoin, Austin Michael Taylor, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for wire fraud, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1.14 million in restitution and forfeitures. Taylor, 41, from Sykesville, Maryland, used his social media influence to promote Clucoin, a Miami-based cryptocurrency project under his company, CLU LLC. After raising funds through an initial coin offering (ICO) in May 2021, he redirected the project’s focus to NFTs, gaming, and a metaverse initiative. In April 2022, Taylor organized “NFTCon: Into the Metaverse” to boost investor interest. The following month, he gained control over CLU investor funds, transferring $1.14 million to his personal account and losing the money through online gambling. The FBI’s Miami and Washington Field Offices investigated, and U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra delivered the sentence.