President Trump establishes Bitcoin Reserve — here’s what it means
President Trump signed an executive order establishing a reserve of bitcoin the government already owns.
- An Elk River woman lost over $8,700 in a potential cryptocurrency scam involving a Telegram group chat.
- The woman invested in Bitcoin through a crypto.com account with the help of individuals claiming to be from the group’s “finance department.”
- After transferring her Bitcoin to an external wallet, she suspected a scam and contacted the Elk River Police Department.
- Authorities are investigating the incident as a possible multi-level marketing or pyramid scheme.
A Telegram chat cost an Elk River woman thousands of dollars after she invested in cryptocurrency. The Elk River Police Department is now investigating a potential multi-level marketing scam.
The 50-year-old Elk River woman filed a police report on May 10, according to a search warrant application. Records state she joined a group chat called “Project Collaboration Group” on Telegram, an encrypted instant messaging service.
A search warrant application states the woman reportedly told authorities she thought she’d earn commission based on the amount of money she invested. An Elk River Police Department investigator states in the application that type of system resembles that of a pyramid scheme or multi-level marketing scam.
The woman allegedly spoke with three people who she thought were from the group’s “finance department.” The trio helped the woman create a crypto.com account and invest more than $8,700 in Bitcoin, according to the warrant application made public on May 28.
That same day, on May 10, the woman withdrew her Bitcoin to a different digital wallet that didn’t belong to her, the warrant states. The three people from “Project Collaboration Group” reportedly tried pressuring the woman to invest more. At that time, the warrant application states the Elk River woman realized she was likely being scammed and filed a report with the police department.
In the warrant application, the investigator states cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin generally aren’t issued by a government agency, creating a larger investment risk due to less oversight and regulation.
Corey Schmidt covers politics and courts for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
