Benzinga | Aug 25, 2021 09:27PM EDT

'Dogecoin Mining' Scam In Turkey Costs 1,500 People $119M As Alleged Perpetrator Vanishes Into Thin Air

An alleged scammer has gone missing in Turkey with 350 million Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) valued at nearly $119.14 million, as per local media reports.

What Happened: Turgut V. organized one-on-one meetings and promoted "Dogecoin mining" at luxurious venues in order to lure investors and build relationships with them, reported Interesting Engineering, citing Turkey's TV100.

See Also: Top 5 Bitcoin and Crypto Scams

Post the meetings, Turgut V. gathered the investors on a Telegram channel and got them to transfer DOGE to the allegedly fraudulent scheme.

An investor told TV100 that they were promised 100% returns in 40 days.

At press time, DOGE traded 0.71% higher at $0.29 over 24 hours.

Why It Matters: Reportedly 1,500 people made transfers to Turgut V.'s operations in the course of three months on thepromise of regular dividends before they were abruptly shut down.

Istanbul's K???k?ekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the incident and banned Turgut V. from leaving Turkey.

As per TV 100, 11 other suspects are also under investigation, which includes the romantic partner of Turgut V.

Dogecoin, often discussed by Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, has captured the imaginations of many retail investors, a fact not unnoticed by scam artists.

See Also: Why Is Dogecoin Dropping Lower Today?

In January, scammers hacked verified Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) social media accounts and renamed them to "Elon Musk" and then proceeded to make away with $587,000 worth of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).

In March, another man lost over $561,000 in another similar attack.

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