• French Crypto Trader Thomas Clausi has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for buying a Ferrari with Bitcoin.
• The woman who sold him the car reported him to the authorities when the price of BTC dropped, leading to his arrest and conviction.
• Clausi’s lawyers are fighting for his release, but he is still currently serving his sentence in Morocco.
French Crypto Trader Jailed for 18 Months
A French crypto trader, Thomas Clausi, is currently jailed in Morocco where he was convicted of the crime of purchasing a Ferrari using bitcoin. Clausi’s arrest and subsequent jailing came after a woman, who sold him a Ferrari for $440,000 in April 2021, filed a complaint against the crypto trader when the price of the crypto asset had dropped to just over $30,000.
Fine Ordered for Crypto Trader
In addition to slapping Clausi with an 18-month jail term, the Moroccan court also ordered the crypto trader to pay a fine of over $3.7 million (€3.4 million). According to a report by Gararin News, trouble for the Frenchman began when a woman who sold him a Ferrari for nearly $440,000 filed a fraud case against him.
Price Drop Led To Complaint
Although Clausi is said to have paid the full amount in April 2021 using BTC, the unnamed woman only filed her complaint in July when the price had dropped. As shown by the crypto asset’s data, during this period, the value of one BTC fell from more than $60,000 seen in mid-April to just over $31,500 by July 17th 2021. Following this dramatic drop in prices which triggered her complaint against Clausi , authorities opened an investigation that led to his eventual conviction and sentencing .
Lawyers Fighting Early Release
Although Clausi is only left with few months before he finishes his sentence , his lawyers are reportedly still trying to secure an early release . For instance , they told one court hearing that their client had bought expensive Swiss watches using crypto assets before and that prices had surged afterwards . Despite this information being presented however , instead of reducing or eliminating his sentence , Moroccos courts ordered Clausex i reimburse seller with equivalent of around 4200 dollars in local currency .
Conclusion
Despite requesting mercy from Moroccan courts due to prior use of cryptocurrency resulting into appreciation of its value , Thomas Clausex remains incarcerated serving out remainder of 18 month jail time . His lawyer remain intent on securing an early release as requested through numerous court hearings yet unsuccessful so far .