By cryptoadmin Federal prosecutors have secured a 23-year prison sentence against Robert Dunlap in a crypto scam tied to Meta-1 Coin. The United States Department of Justice said the fraud caused more than $20 million in losses and affected nearly 1,000 investors.
Court records said Dunlap, a 55-year-old from Houston, ran the scheme from 2018 to 2023. During that period, he promoted Meta-1 Coin as a legitimate digital asset. Prosecutors said the project was built on false claims and fake support.
Crypto Scam Behind Meta-1 Coin
At the center of the case was an entity called the Meta-1 Coin Trust. Through that platform, Dunlap told investors they were buying into a real crypto business. Authorities said the operation had no genuine asset backing.
Investigators said Dunlap claimed the coin was supported by up to $1 billion in fine art. He also said about $44 billion in gold stood behind the project. Prosecutors told the court those statements were false.
Another part of the sales pitch involved supposed outside verification. Dunlap said an accounting firm had audited the gold holdings and confirmed their value. According to prosecutors, no such proof existed.
Authorities also described claims about a personal art collection. Dunlap told investors the collection included works by Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Salvador Dali. Prosecutors said those names were used to give the project an image of value and legitimacy.
Years of False Claims End in Federal Prison Sentence
To reinforce the story, he created false legal papers and other documents. Those materials were designed to appear authentic. Prosecutors said they were used to support claims that had no basis in fact.
Over several years, investors accepted those representations and sent money into the scheme. Some victims put in life savings after being told the project offered strong future returns. Instead, authorities said, the funds went into a fraudulent system.
This week, U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt handed down the prison term. The court also ordered restitution for victims harmed by the operation. That ruling closed a case prosecutors described as long-running and deliberate.
However, officials said the case reflects a broader pattern in digital asset fraud. False backing claims, fake audits, and misleading documents were all used to attract money. In this case, prosecutors said none of the promised support could be verified.
The sentencing comes as other crypto fraud cases continue to emerge. Earlier this year, a fugitive dual national received 20 years in absentia for a role in a $73 million international pig butchering crypto investment scam.
Separate enforcement action has also expanded across borders. According to authorities, the United States, Britain, and Canada launched a joint effort to curb large-scale crypto theft schemes. Estimates from that operation put stolen crypto assets at about $45 million, with $12 million frozen.
Related: Crypto Scam Complaints Reach 181,565 as U.S. Losses Hit $11.366B