This week, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI announced the arrest of Nader Al-Naji, the founder and promoter of BitClout tokens. Al-Naji has been charged with fraud for making false and misleading statements to BitClout purchasers and claiming not to control the use of investment funds.
According to the criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Al-Naji founded BitClout, a social media and cryptocurrency trading platform, claiming to allow users to purchase BitClout tokens using Bitcoin. These tokens could then be used in transactions related to the social media profiles of other BitClout users.
BitClout described itself as “the first crypto social network,” a “fusion of financial and social applications.” Specifically, BitClout was promoted as “a social network built from scratch with its own custom blockchain. It is not a company, has no employees—only code and tokens.” As of August 1, 2024, the platform interface is still accessible and has an appearance and experience similar to the social media platform X.
https://www.trmlabs.com/post/bitclout-founder-charged-with-defrauding-investors