A man was sentenced to 45,000 years behind bars because of a game (3 photos)

Mehmet Aydin allegedly defrauded thousands of Turks of millions of dollars before fleeing to Uruguay.





The Istanbul High Criminal Court has concluded the trial of Aydin Mehmet, his brother Fatih and 18 other defendants. According to the prosecution, Aydin Mehmet defrauded people using the online investment app Çiftlik Bank (Ferma Bank).

Both brothers were sentenced to 45,376 years in prison on charges of theft using electronic data processing systems, banks or credit institutions, creating an organization with the purpose of committing crimes and laundering the proceeds of crime.

Mehmet Aydin, in his final statement to the court, asked to be acquitted, saying he did not create the investment app with the purpose of defrauding people.

He said he would be able to cover the victims' losses if the government allowed him to use the confiscated money and assets.



The court also imposed a fine of 496 million Turkish lira (US$13.8 million) on the Aydin brothers and ordered that the fine be paid in 24 monthly installments.

The remaining 11 defendants were sentenced to varying prison terms on the same charges.

Aydin Mehmet and his business partners created the game Çiftlik Bank in 2016, inspired by the popular social game FarmVille.

Users bought virtual animals and farming equipment with real money, but Aydin promised them that the money they spent would be invested in real livestock on real farms across Turkey. Products were also put up for sale in some stores and "show farms" to attract investors, and users were paid for their time playing the game.

An investigation launched in March 2018 into allegations that the company was running a Ponzi scheme led to the seizure of its assets and the arrest of some of its executives. In 2018, Aydin Mehmet fled to Uruguay with about 1.1 billion Turkish lira (about $280 million at the exchange rate at the time) collected from about 132,000 customers.



In 2019, Interpol issued a "red notice" for Aydin, who is wanted by Turkish authorities on charges of "theft using an electronic data processing system, banks or credit institutions as an instrument," "establishing an organization with the purpose of committing crimes," "violating tax laws," and other charges.

Aydin was arrested by an Istanbul court on July 7, 2021, four days after he surrendered to the Turkish Consulate General in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was brought to Turkey.