Canadian crypto exchange ezBtc entangled in a Fraud case involving $9.5M of users’ Bitcoin and Ether
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Loading... - Ryker Dube
- 26 Aug 2024
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The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has uncovered a major fraud case involving the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange ezBtc and its founder, David Smillie. The exchange, which operated between 2016 and 2019, misappropriated approximately 13 million Canadian dollars (around $9.5 million) of customer funds, primarily in Bitcoin and Ether.
Instead of securing these funds as promised, Smillie diverted a significant portion—nearly one-third of the total—into personal gambling activities on platforms such as CloudBet and FortuneJack, among others. The BCSC investigation revealed that these transactions were sometimes made directly from ezBtc's accounts and other times funneled through Smillie’s personal exchange accounts before reaching the gambling websites.
EzBtc's deceitful practices have led to substantial financial losses for its customers, many of whom found themselves unable to withdraw their funds when the platform went offline in September 2019. The company was officially dissolved in 2022.
The BCSC has scheduled sanctions to be imposed by September 24, 2024. Potential penalties could include significant monetary fines and restrictions on Smillie’s participation in financial markets. Smillie did not attend the hearing in person but was represented by legal counsel.
