Cryptocurrency Mogul Sentenced to Four Years in Jail for Tax Evasion

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that the founder of the blockchain protocol Oyster Pearl, has been handed a four-year jail term for tax offenses, Amitoj Singh reports for CoinDesk. Amir Bruno Elmaani, aka “Bruno Brock,” was also sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $5.5 million, the estimated tax loss. Elmaani made “millions of dollars” from an initial coin offering of its pearl (PRL) cryptocurrency, but instead of reporting the income from sales, he falsified his tax return and then used $10 million in proceeds to buy multiple yachts (where he stored gold bars), real estate and home renovations.