Investors sue Washington state bitcoin mining magnate who they say bilked them for millions
March 12, 2021 at 8:17 am
Malachi Salcido, founder of Salcido Enterprises, used his expertise building large climate-controlled buildings to set up a bitcoin mining operation in the Wenatchee Valley. (GeekWire File Photo)
Investors who bet big on Malachi Salcido, a self-described bitcoin mining magnate, now claim the Washington state man busted his own business, and may have cost them millions of dollars.
A group of investors who sunk $8.5 million into Salcido’s bitcoin mining company, StepChange, claim the Wenatchee man misappropriated, embezzled or otherwise misspent $2.4 million in company money over three years. At one bitcoin mine that he owns, Salcido charged StepChange — a company that he held a controlling interest in — rents that were more than nine times what he was paying on the mortgage.