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Convicted Fraudster Dons Disguise, Opens Blockchain Firm

Blockchain Terminal, a blockchain startup that promised a cryptocurrency version of the Bloomberg Terminal, was all a lie, according to a report from The Block.

The CEO of the company, Shaun MacDonald, turned out to be a convicted fraudster named Boaz Manor, in disguise.

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What’s in the box? 

The Bloomberg Terminal, a software system used to monitor financial market data and execute trades, is the financial media company’s most successful product. It is used by most large major financial companies.

Blockchain Terminal, which is based in the Cayman Islands, offers (according to its website):

– financial information about the cryptocurrency market at a Wall Street-level, drawn from 165 exchanges.
– a cryptocurrency exchange (“Execute trades at guaranteed lowest prices”)
– a cryptocurrency wallet service (“Store up to 1,500 currencies”)

Guy Incognito

However, the product apparently was not there. Several sources told The Block that they had been sent the hardware in order to test it, but never sent people to set them up. Manor, with dyed hair and a new beard, secretly ran the business under his new identity. Sources say that employees were “pushed out” if they showed too much interest in him. One hedge fund manager recognised him; according to The Block, he said: “As soon as I saw that picture of Boaz I just about shit my pants.”

Hard time

Manor, who was born in Israel, is known in Canada for spending four years in jail for fraud. He set up a hedge fund called Portus Alternative Asset Management in 2003, promising investors guaranteed returns. It shortly became one of Canada’s biggest hedge funds, thanks in part to a deal with the country’s biggest life insurance firm, Manulife Financial, which referred clients for a fee, according to The Star.

After a two-year investigation, Canadian authorities froze the operation, having concluded that $103 million had been misappropriated. Notably, amongst his purchases were diamonds, which have never been found. Manor fled to Israel before returning to face the music.

In addition to jail time, Manor was ordered to pay $8.8 million and permanently banned from the financial industry, in August 2012. After his release, he disappeared.

What about now?

Bonomo left the firm in the summer and has deleted the experience from his LinkedIn account. Manor came clean to his employees about who he really is and stopped paying them. His whereabouts are unknown.

The company is still operational under the name BCT Inc.

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