A crypto academy in the United Kingdom has been officially closed down by authorities, who accuse the founder of using it to deceive people into participating in investment schemes that resulted in significant losses. The Insolvency Service, a government agency, revealed that Amey Finance Academy provided advice to individuals interested in investing in various cryptocurrency schemes. However, some customers lost all of their investments due to misleading promises made by the academy’s director and sole shareholder. In WhatsApp messages reviewed by investigators, Amey allegedly assured one customer that their investments were completely secure and urged them to trust him. Another customer was told that their investment would not drop below 90%, but they ultimately lost everything. Mark George, the chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, stated that Desmond Amey used Amey Finance Academy to irresponsibly persuade individuals to invest in cryptocurrency schemes and misled them about the associated risks.
This action by the Insolvency Service comes two weeks after obtaining a winding-up order against Amey’s firm in the UK High Court on April 30. One of the cryptocurrency schemes promoted by the firm was HyperFund, which later became known as HyperVerse and turned out to be an alleged Ponzi scheme. Australian authorities failed to address the scheme for nearly two years. The US Securities and Exchange Commission subsequently charged two of HyperVerse’s main operators, accusing them of running a $1.7 billion fraudulent scheme. However, due to Amey’s failure to provide updated accounting records, the Insolvency Service was unable to determine the true relationship between Amey Finance Academy and HyperVerse. This lack of transparency led to the Insolvency Service seeking a winding-up order. Between October 2019 and March 2022, approximately $6.3 million passed through Amey Finance Academy’s bank account, but the firm’s assets and liabilities could not be determined. Amey’s firm was launched in December 2018, claiming to be an established and successful independent consultancy offering a range of financial services. Cointelegraph reached out to Desmond Amey for comment.