Ace Exchange Founders Face 20-Year Sentence in Fraud Case

In January 2024, Taipei City Police arrested 15 people, including David Pan, the founder of JackIssue, in connection to a fraudulent scheme involving Ace Exchange. The indictments allege that over 1,200 investors were misled and lost nearly 800 million New Taiwan dollars ($24.56 million), far exceeding initial estimates.


In Taiwan, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office has accused 32 individuals, including David Pan, founder of JackIssue, and his associate Lin Keng-hong linked to Ace Exchange, of fraud and money laundering charges within the cryptocurrency sector. The main suspects face a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison if found guilty, marking a significant development in this ongoing court case.

Taipei Police Raid Ace Exchange, Arrest 15

The accusations detail an intricate deception that misguided over 1,200 investors, resulting in losses now projected to be approximately 800 million New Taiwan dollars ($24.56 million). Initially, the anticipated damages were much lower, at around 340 million NT$ ($10.6 million). A notable individual among those indicted is Wang Chen-huan, a renowned attorney and head of Ace Exchange. If proven guilty, he could face imprisonment for up to 12 years. His involvement as a legal consultant lent legitimacy to the deceitful activities.

As a crypto investor, I was taken aback when I heard the news that Taipei City Police arrested David Pan and 14 others in January 2024 following an extensive investigation. The raids targeted various locations, including the main office of Ace Exchange. During their probes, the authorities uncovered links to a fraudulent crypto wallet service, which went by the names “Alfred” or “Afu wallet,” and associated cryptocurrency cards.

Ace Exchange Denies Ties to Founder Pan

In the year 2019, the suspects vigorously marketed several cryptocurrencies, including NFTC tokens and bitnature coins, and distributed misleading white papers and promotional content. Their ultimate goal was to establish Ace Exchange as the leading blockchain platform for digital currency trading in Asia. However, the experience for investors proved to be quite distressing, as their tokens experienced significant value loss and could not be exchanged back into fiat currency despite the promises made.

Due to this financial disparity, numerous investors initiated lawsuits, leading to the present accusations. The court has already seized the defendant’s assets, valued at least 3.5 million NTD ($110,000), which serves as a form of reparation for deceived investors.

In response to the indictment against David Pan, Ace Exchange issued a statement on April 8th, asserting that he no longer has any connection to Trader’s Paradise and has not been involved in its daily operations since 2022. The company also emphasized that any alleged fraudulent activities by Pan were unrelated to the current functioning of their platform. Nevertheless, this declaration failed to rebuild the trust that had been eroded due to the association with the ongoing investigation.

US DOJ Fights Back Against Tornado Cash Founder’s MTD Request

Read More

2024-04-28 01:22