Mehmet Aydın, known by the nickname "Tosuncuk," and his brother Fatih Aydın, the founders of the famous "Çiftlik Bank" system, have been sentenced to 45,376 years and 6 months in prison. In 2016, Mehmet Aydın created a system called "Çiftlik Bank." In this system, people bought virtual farm animals online and paid for feed and storage costs. It was claimed that these virtual animals were actually raised in farms in Turkey. Users expected to receive returns from products like meat and milk obtained from the animals.
However, in 2017, it was revealed that "Çiftlik Bank" was a pyramid scheme (known as a "chain of happiness"), which led to complaints. In early 2018, "Çiftlik Bank" stopped accepting new memberships, and it was reported that the system was illegal. Problems began arising with payments, and as a result, some people attacked the bank’s offices and tried to seize the goods there.
Mehmet Aydın was captured in Brazil in 2020 and was extradited to Turkey. The court sentenced him and his brother to long prison terms for charges such as "establishing a criminal group" and "fraud." Mehmet Aydın defended himself by stating that he had not harmed anyone and had no intention to deceive anyone.
