Actor Unwittingly Played Fake CEO in $1.3 Billion Cryptocurrency Scam
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An actor named Stephen Harrison was hired for $7,500 over 9 months to pretend to be the CEO "Steven Reece Lewis" of the cryptocurrency company HyperVerse. He made videos posing as the CEO.
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HyperVerse claimed the fake CEO had impressive credentials and degrees from top universities, but these were fabricated. Harrison does not have those credentials.
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HyperVerse raised $1.3 billion from investors for a cryptocurrency mining operation that did not actually exist. The money is missing and investors lost everything.
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Harrison apologized to the investors who lost money, saying he did not pocket any funds and was "shocked" to learn of the false credentials HyperVerse created for him.
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Harrison was hired by a talent agency and reassured the CEO role was "legitimate." He had limited contact with the HyperVerse heads who perpetrated the scam.