Jack Abramoff was charged with fraud yesterday in connection with the sale of a new cryptocurrency that was touted as superior to bitcoin, the Wall Street Journal reported. Abramoff, a disgraced former lobbyist who served time in prison, was charged in San Francisco federal court with conspiracy to commit wire fraud over his role in the sale of the proposed digital coin, called AML Bitcoin, which raised over $5 million from 2,400 investors, authorities said. He was also charged with failing to report as a lobbyist, the first-ever criminal prosecution for such a violation, the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco said. Abramoff agreed to settle related civil claims filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the regulatory agency. The settlement, subject to court approval, would require him to give back $50,000 in commissions and agree to be barred from working in the securities industry and as an officer or director of a public company, the SEC said.
