Judge Orders 'Bitcoin Savings and Trust' to Pay in Ponzi Scheme

A U.S. federal judge in Texas ordered Bitcoin Savings and Trust and its owner to pay a combined $40.7 million after the Securities and Exchange Commission established that the company, which sold investments using the virtual currency, was a Ponzi scheme. U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant said Trendon Shavers "knowingly and intentionally" operated his company "as a sham and a Ponzi scheme," misleading investors about the use of their bitcoin, how he would generate promised returns and the safety of their investments.