Bullies, ’sugar babies,’ and greed are blamed for a $123 million swindle by a cryptocurrency thief

<p>"This is where greed gets you," says Canberra-born crypto fraudster Stefan Qin in a tell-all video released in advance of his seven-year prison sentence in New York City for stealing $US90 million from Australian and US investors.</p> <p>On Friday night, a media organisation that interviewed Qin three days before he began his sentence released a YouTube video that shows viewers around his $US24,500-a-month penthouse with towering views of the metropolis.</p> <p>In September, Qin was charged with one count of securities fraud after a US court found him guilty of intentionally misleading investors and falsifying account statements connected to his cryptocurrency arbitrage fund, Virgil Sigma Fund.</p> <p>He was sentenced to 712 years in federal prison, followed by three years on supervised release.</p> <p>Qin is shown boxing in the video, which he claims he is learning so that he can defend himself in prison.</p> <p>Qin describes the extreme bullying and harassment he endured at the hands of his classmates in Canberra in a wide-ranging and candid interview.</p> <p>"That led to some tremendous despair and suicidal tendencies from year seven and eight on," he adds, adding that this was exacerbated by a "great insecurity in the Asian community to to be as successful as possible at all costs."</p> <p>"It's not even about making money; it's about looking good." Later on, that manifested itself in the worst way conceivable, where I would simply keep raising money... and in the back of my mind, I'd be thinking, 'stuff you, I'm more successful than you now.' 'Please come and work for me.' That's exactly what I'd tell my inner bullies."</p> <p>Qin dropped out of UNSW in 2016, relocated to China, became involved in crypto arbitrage (investors take advantage of bitcoin price variations on different crypto exchanges), and established Virgil Capital, a hedge fund.</p> <p>Qin discusses about losing his virginity in 2017 to a female he was "madly in love with [who] cheated on me with some guy who was richer than I was.