A new Netflix documentary discusses how University of Manitoba Professor Andrew Halayko’s photo was used in a cryptocurrency scam. The film details how a cryptocurrency company Centra Tech created a fictional CEO named Michael Edwards using Halayko’s photo after it appeared in an online search using the phrase “old white guy.” The photo was used to create a fake online profile for the fictitious CEO to grant the company legitimacy. In May 2019, Halayko was made aware that his photo was being used by a fraudulent website and was asked to speak to the FBI and give witness statements. Halayko told the filmmakers that he has a question for the fraudsters: “‘Of the millions — hundreds of millions, I don’t know — of pictures of men with glasses and a little bit of grey hair, why did you pick me?”
