Komodore64 is the name of a video game and blockchain development company based in The Netherlands, but it appears to have been an intricate facade for a scam that collected more than $80 million from duped investors. Police officers in The Hague have arrested an individual identified as Sam N., who is the alleged founder of the company, and he is facing various counts of fraud.

Prior to his arrest, Sam N. had been actively involved in courting investors for the Komodore64 project, which aimed to offer online games that would allow multiple players to compete for cryptocurrency prizes and purchase in-game items as well as enhancements; the goals were to track all transactions by means of a blockchain application powered by a native digital currency, K64. Investors were presented with a white paper that mentioned the potential of K64 being used as an established currency in other games.

Sam N. is now accused of orchestrating a scam that went as far as putting together a team of impersonators who faked being a group of Goldman Sachs investment bankers. Employees at Komodore64 were left holding the bag when bills from companies that provided catering and entertainment for the company's launch party were never paid. At one point, the employees agreed that the best course of action would be to file for bankruptcy, a move that will complicate things for investors wishing to get their money back.

The ruse pulled by Sam N. went as far as deceiving one of the co-founders of the company by recruiting someone else to fake that role. On Twitter updates posted by Sam N., the sham co-founder was photographed attending blockchain and video game development conferences held in Dubai. The real co-founder was actually surprised to learn that he was being impersonated, and he claims to not have been aware of the investment scam.

Law enforcement agencies in The Netherlands have been quite active in catching criminals active in the cryptocurrency markets. Earlier this year, Dutch police arrested the director of a Bitcoin mining found to be scamming investors, and a few hackers who conspired to steal from digital currency wallets were also arrested a few months ago in Amsterdam.