FBI Atlanta
Public Affairs Specialist Jenna Sellitto
(770) 216-3162
September 26, 2022

FBI Atlanta Seeking Potential Victims in Ryan Felton FLiK and Coinspark Investment Scams

ATLANTA—Atlanta film producer Ryan Felton faces sentencing in U.S. Federal Court on November 22nd, 2022, He previously pleaded guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering charges arising from his fraudulent promotion of two cryptocurrency investment schemes that cost investors millions in losses.

FBI Atlanta is now trying to identify additional victims in the case prior to sentencing. A link has been set up to allow potential victims to identify themselves. https://www.fbi.gov/flikcoinsparkvictims.

In 2017, Ryan Felton promoted an initial coin offering (ICO) for a new entertainment streaming platform, FLiK, which he promised would surpass Netflix. To increase, or pump, the price of FLiK coins, Felton falsely represented to investors that a prominent Atlanta rapper and actor was a co-owner of FLiK, the United States military had agreed to distribute the streaming platform to service members, and FLiK was finalizing licensing deals with major film and television studios.

Felton further claimed that he was actively developing the platform and would use all funds raised in the ICO to launch FLiK. After the ICO closed, Felton dumped more than 40 million FLiK coins on trading markets, causing the value of FLiK coins to plummet.

In 2018, Felton promoted a second ICO for a new company, CoinSpark, which was a cryptocurrency trading exchange. To attract investors to the ICO, Felton promised that Spark coin investors would receive 25% of the trading exchange’s profits in the form of dividends. After raising more than $200,000 in the ICO, Felton announced that CoinSpark would not pay Spark investors a dividend and offered ICO investors a refund. Felton then repeatedly rejected or ignored investor requests for refunds. The CoinSpark exchange ultimately launched months after its promised delivery date but had significant technical issues and minimal trading activity.

Instead of applying ICO proceeds to FLiK and CoinSpark, Felton diverted significant funds to his personal bank account.

If you believe you were a victim in this case please https://www.fbi.gov/flikcoinsparkvictims.

Your responses are voluntary but would be useful in the federal investigation and to identify you as a potential victim. Based on the responses provided, you may be contacted by the FBI and asked to provide additional information.