Amir Bruno Elmaani, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency scheme Oyster Protocol and a 31-year-old individual, has been sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison for tax evasion, as reported by Cointelegraph. Elmaani, also known by the alias "Bruno Block," was sentenced to prison on October 31, according to the United States Attorney's Office. Elmaani pleaded guilty on April 6, admitting to covertly minting and selling Pearl tokens while evading income tax on a substantial portion of the project's profits. Elmaani acknowledged being responsible for tax losses in excess of $5.5 million.

Pearl (PRL), a cryptocurrency promoted by Elmaani from September to October 2017, was positioned as a means for investors to acquire data on the Oyster Protocol, a blockchain-based data storage platform. Elmaani clandestinely produced a substantial quantity of fresh PRL tokens and sold them on the market in October 2018, against the knowledge of the Oyster Protocol's team and investors. He did so for his own financial benefit. In spite of generating millions of dollars through the exit scheme, Elmaani submitted a tax return in 2017 disclosing his earnings from a patent design business as a mere $15,000. Furthermore, in 2018, he maintained a zero-income status in relation to the tax authorities.

Elmaani purchased two residences for over $700,000, spent more than $10 million on multiple yachts, and spent $1.6 million at a carbon-fiber composite company, according to the court. Additionally, he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at home improvement stores. A residence was acquired via a shell corporation, while the other two properties were registered in the names of Elmaani's associates. A gold bar was stored in a safe on one of the vessels he owned, where he "dealt substantially" in precious metals. Elmaani was ordered to pay $5.5 million in restitution and was imposed one year of supervised release in addition to his four-year prison term.

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