"The US District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a default judgment against Benjamin Reynolds, purportedly of Manchester, England, finding that he operated a fraudulent scheme to solicit bitcoin from members of the public and misappropriated customers’ bitcoin," the release said Friday.

The court requires Reynolds to pay nearly $143 million in restitution to defrauded customers and a civil penalty of $429 million, the release said.

The court requires Reynolds to pay nearly $143 million in restitution to defrauded customers and a civil penalty of $429 million, the release said.

Reynolds solicited 22,190.542 bitcoin from more than 1,000 customers worldwide, including at least 169 individuals residing in the US, the release added.