BigOption brand manager pleads guilty to wire fraud conspiracy

A criminal case targeting a binary options scam involving a number of entities continues at the Maryland District Court. The list of defendants in this case includes individuals such as Yosef Herzog.

According to the latest Court filings, one of the defendants in this case – Elad Bigelman, has admitted his guilt.

Elad Bigelman, also known as “Michael Goldberg”, worked at Yukom Communications from at least January 2015 to about September 2017. He served as a brand manager for BigOption. He supervised representatives of BigOption who performed retention services. Bigelman also performed retention services on behalf of BigOption himself.

The superseding indictment alleges that beginning in May 2014, the defendants and their co-conspirators fraudulently marketed and sold binary options through multiple websites, including BinaryBook and BigOption. The indictment alleges that the conspirators worked for an Israel-based company, Yukom Communications, which was involved in the sale and marketing of binary options.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators misled investors in BinaryBook and BigOption by inducing investors to deposit funds based on various false statements and material omissions regarding the purported alignment of financial incentives between investors and representatives of BinaryBook and BigOption; the suitability of binary options as investments; the potential return on investment; and the names, qualifications, and physical location of representatives.

The indictment also alleges that the defendants and their co-conspirators misrepresented investors’ ability to withdraw funds from accounts and further used deceptive terms including so-called “bonuses,” “risk free trades,” and “insured trades” to mislead investors.

According to Bigelman’s guilty plea, seen by FX News Group, he pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. The defendant reserves the right to appeal any sentence that exceeds the statutory maximum.

The defendant agrees that the loss attributable to him is at least $3.76 million. There is no agreement as to the defendant’s criminal history.

Bigelman has yet to be sentenced.