UPDATED 03:58 EST / FEBRUARY 08 2016

NEWS

Bitcoin scammer Ryan Kennedy arrested on rape charges

Ryan Kennedy, the head of former Dogecoin exchange Moolah, has been arrested in the United Kingdom on rape charges.

According to local reports, Kennedy stands accused of raping five women over the course of eight years and faces a total of 14 charges, 11 of rape, two of assault by penetration and one of causing a woman to engage in sexual activity without consent.

The offenses are alleged to have been carried out in Gloucestershire between late 2007 and last year, all during the time Kennedy was defrauding people through his various online schemes.

This is not the first time Kennedy has appeared in court, with the 28-year-old being arrested in February 2014 over allegations that he stole 3,700 Bitcoins from the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange MintPal.

Kennedy, who at the time was going by the name of Alex Green, attempted to take over MintPal through his company Moolah in a deal which landed him approximately 35 percent of the company, but gave Moolah full control of MintPal; after being given access to the service Kennedy claimed that the site had been hacked and the Bitcoin stolen, but it was subsequently revealed that Kennedy had not only taken the Bitcoin himself but was caught red-handed selling it on Local Bitcoins.

Previous reports have also linked Kennedy as having been behind Crypto.pm, another startup which is believed to have fleeced over 500 Bitcoins from investors.

Other companies believed to be linked to Kennedy include Citrux.pw, Nuplay.co, Flirble.me, Escrow.pm, Lemon.sx and Nzbx.co.

Scumbag

Karma, destiny or fate, following as effect from cause, may be regarded as a religious concept to many. But if it is real, this scumbag is finally getting his just deserves, be it too late for his many victims, both those in his community which he has allegedly raped, and those in the Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency community from whom he has stolen.

Kennedy was remanded in custody to await a trial, which is expected to start in May.

Image credit: gamerscore/Flickr/CC by 2.0

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