A former bank employee was convicted by a Chinese court of the diversion of bitcoin . Liu Lihua, 33, was sentenced for stealing 1.85 million yuan ($ 261,000) and loaning customers up to 770,000 yuan ($ 108,704) to buy bitcoin , according to court ruling from Hengfeng, in Jiangxi Province.

Lihua worked for a national commercial bank in China as a loan officer. The former loan officer took advantage of his position to access the bank and embezzle money. Lihua later used the stolen money to invest in cryptocurrencies.

In 2013, he discovered digital currencies but started investing in bitcoin in 2018 after its price hit a historic high of $ 20,000 in the 2017 crypto bubble. Lihua's initial investment of $ 14,117 jumped 16 times, spending more than $ 225,880 in just one week.

The exorbitant returns its first investment, to the point of breaking the law, have motivated the former bank employee to build up on the bitcoin . Lihua thought he could make even more money if he had more money, having returned quickly in just seven days after making a return 16 times.

Bitcoin fraud and diversion charges

The former bank employee stole a total of 1.85 million yuan ($ 261,000) from 2018 to May 2019; move funds to his bitcoin wallet and pay for his expenses. In addition, Lihua falsely declared bank loans with details of its customers in the amount of $ 108,704.

In 2018, the price of bitcoin dropped considerably to reach the lows of $ 3,200 in December; about $ 15,000 at the start of the year. Lihua lost two million yuan ($ 282,350) to invest in the digital currency due to the massive crash.

As a result, he was found guilty by the Chinese court of embezzlement and fraud by Bitcoin . Since then, the court has sentenced him to 12 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 yuan ($ 14,117). In addition, the court ordered him to return all of the undisclosed winnings.