Wong Ching-kit, also known as the “Bitcoin Playboy”, has been given a jail sentence for pouring money over one of Hong Kong’s poorest neighborhoods. Magistrate Leung Siu-ling sentenced Wong to a ten-day imprisonment, and a two year suspended sentence.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, a local news publication, Wong was sentenced on the grounds of “committing a nuisance in a public place” to which Wong pleaded guilty. Magistrate Leung Siu-ling, while sentencing Wong, said that the stunt could easily have led to pandemonium considering there were over 300 people within that place alone.

Wong was arrested in December of last year, after he was caught throwing stacks of $100 bills (Hong Kong Dollar) from the rooftop of a building in Sham Shui Po, an area in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district. Prior to engaging in this publicity stunt, Wong told his social media followers that money would soon be “falling from the sky”.

The Bitcoin Playboy: A Fraud Millionaire?

This is not the Bitcoin playboy’s first tryst with controversies. Earlier in January of this year, four blockchain speculators accused Wong of defrauding them of HK$3 million. Wong had reportedly developed cryptocurrency mining machines specifically for mining his own cryptocurrency. These machines were sold to investors with the promise that profits would be seen within three months of the purchase.

However, the investors soon discovered that Wong’s coins were completely useless as they were not listed on any major exchange or cryptocurrency platform. This meant that the expensive mining rigs were also largely useless.

Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, meanwhile, revealed that party officials had filed approximately twenty complaints from investors who had bought Wong’s mining machines. Hong Kong police also noted that Wong’s business scheme had previously defrauded nine men and one woman out of HK$940,000.

‘Making Money Rain’: A Marketing Propaganda?

Wong’s latest publicity stunt was not born out of altruism. Instead, the money “falling from the sky” act was part of a marketing campaign to garner support for his new cryptocurrency. Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong, said that Wong’s actions were giving the cryptocurrency community a bad name. He further tweeted,

As for the people who managed to get away with some of Wong’s dollar bills, they were warned by the police that collecting such money could amount to a crime. Wong was also planning to continue his marketing campaign by handing out free meal coupons at a nearby local restaurant. However, before he could execute this plan, he was apprehended by the Hong Kong police while exiting his luxury car.

With Wong being served a minor ten-day imprisonment, do you think that this sentence will act as a deterrent to future entrepreneurs who are looking to defraud their investors? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.