A self-proclaimed 24-year-old math whiz and ex-cryptocurrency fund manager will now spend seven and a half years behind bars after defrauding investors out of millions.

Stefan Qin is accused of defrauding over 100 investors out of over $90 million after investors joined in on his cryptocurrency hedge fund that touted 500% returns. As part of his scheme, Qin claimed that he had developed a trading algorithm which he called Tenjin. He touted that his special trading algorithm was able to purchase cryptocurrencies from one exchange and then resell them on a different exchange at a higher rate. Qin explains that his algorithm used at least 40 different exchanges worldwide to generate enormous profits for investors.

Qin began his trading endeavors in 2017 when he dropped out of college to establish Virgil Sigma Fund LP. Not long after he started his fund, he touted explosive returns as high as 500%. In 2018, The Wall Street Journal even featured Qin in a profile when his fund was managing just under $24 million. Two years after the feature, Qin was able to secure more than $90 million from investors.

At the end of 2020, investors became suspicious and began asking for their money back. When Qin was unable to deliver, he started what prosecutors described as a Ponzi-like scheme to cover his tracks. In another effort to pay investors, Qin tried to access the money from another fund he had, VQR Multistrategy Fund LP. However, Qin was unable to access the funds after the SEC put a freeze on its assets.

After the SEC froze the account, the Australian native flew back to the states from South Korea where he surrendered to authorities. He also pled guilty to the charges against him on the same day.

The charges against Qin came with sentences of up to 20 years behind bars. However, given the fact that Qin did not have a criminal record and that he voluntarily came back to the states to face his charges, probation officials recommended that Qin serve 96 months behind bars.

With the leniency in sentencing recommendations in mind, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni Sentenced Qin to seven and a half years behind bars. For some of his victims, they feel that leniency is not warranted and that Qin should serve the maximum sentence behind bars. Judge Caproni described Qin during sentencing as a “potentially very dangerous person” and that he “deliberately and consciously chose a path” to defraud his investors.

Over a dozen of his victims wrote letters to the judge explaining the impact that Qin’s scheme had on them. One victim described herself as being left “homeless and destitute” after Qin knowingly defrauded her.

Qin addressed the court during sentencing and expressed, “I feel ashamed to look them in the eye and tell them I’m sorry, but I must.” He adds, “Instead of coming clean I did the worst thing and doubled down on my lies. I thought I was the main protagonist and life was a video game and I had just found the cheat code to beat it. As we know life is not a video game.”

Instead of using investor funds properly, prosecutors allege that Qin used the money to fund his lavish lifestyle including a $23,000 a month Manhattan penthouse apartment. He also used the money to fund failed investments in initial coin offerings and real estate.

Judge Caproni shared that the harsh sentence was meant as a way to deter future criminals from perpetrating such a crime. “This kind of white collar crime is just as devastating to victims as other types of crime, and it will be punished severely,” the judge shared.