Oyster Protocol Founder Convicted and Sentenced for Tax Fraud

Amir Bruno Elmaani, the founder of the Oyster Protocol crypto, is facing a four-year jail sentence due to his failure to pay taxes.

On October 31, the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that Elmaani had secretly generated and sold Pearl tokens, evading tax payments on the income he generated. He confessed to causing more than $5.5 million in tax losses.

Elmaani had initially promised to introduce a new cryptocurrency called Pearl in 2017. However, in 2018, without disclosing his actions to anyone, he produced a considerable number of new Pearl tokens, selling them for personal profit.

This scheme earned him millions, but in 2017, he reported to tax authorities that he had only earned $15,000. In 2018, he claimed to have made no income, despite spending over $10 million on purchases like boats, homes, and gold bars.

He used a fictitious company to purchase one of the houses and enlisted the help of two friends to buy another home. He even stored gold on one of his boats.

Elmaani never paid taxes on his crypto earnings and sometimes sought assistance from friends and family to conceal the funds. In addition to serving a jail term, he is required to repay the $5.5 million in outstanding taxes.