Deeping St Nicholas youth in court over £2million bitcoin fraud

A teenager from the Deeping St Nicholas area fraudulently amassed a fortune of almost £2million, Youth Court magistrates in Boston heard today.

The 17-year-old male, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted the charges relating to money laundering and committing fraud by false representation involving a total of around £6,900 in April last year.

But the Crown Prosecution Service said the youth had accumulated around £1.9million in Bitcoin, which it says must be as a result of the fraudulent activity.

Andy Young, prosecuting, said the case must be sent to the Crown Court as, although the sentencing for these charges might be suitable for the magistrates, only a Crown Court judge could issue a confiscation order relating to the £2million.

Although the solicitor for the youth argued that the magistrates had no power to send a juvenile to the Crown Court in these circumstances, they disagreed and sent him for sentencing at Lincoln Crown Court on a date to be arranged and granted him unconditional bail.