A Florida man lost almost his entire life savings – $860,000 – in a cryptocurrency trading scam. He thought he’d found a get-rich-quick scheme, but it turned out to be a devastating loss.
The Fake Academy and Exchange
The scam was run by two seemingly legitimate entities: Alpha Stock Investment Training Center (ASITC) and CoinBridge, a supposed cryptocurrency exchange. ASITC offered lessons on “signal trading,” while CoinBridge claimed to have attracted $10 million from 600 investors. It all sounded very convincing, but it was a complete fabrication. There was no real exchange; all trades were controlled by the scammers.
Early Wins and Growing Investment
The victim, Brian Firestone, was initially given a $500 “gift” by instructor John Smith. This quickly grew to $55,000, then even more when he invested another $50,000. Seeing his virtual balance balloon to $2 million, Firestone was hooked. He believed he’d discovered a foolproof system.
This led him to invest even more. He wired $470,000 from his bank account and borrowed a further $330,000 from ASITC to keep trading. His virtual balance soared to a staggering $24.5 million. He felt incredibly successful, completely unaware that he was losing control of his actual money.
The Crash and the Lawsuit
The house of cards collapsed on March 9th. A USDT trade failed, and the platform froze. Firestone contacted Smith, blaming a technical glitch, but within minutes, his entire balance vanished. He’d been completely scammed.
Now, Firestone is suing CoinBridge and ASITC, hoping to recover his lost funds and expose those behind the operation. His lawyers argue that the school deliberately deceived him, concealing its control over both the exchange and the manipulated trading signals.
