4 Central Florida Men Charged with Running a Cryptocurrency Pyramid Scheme
Four Florida men have been charged with cheating hundreds of millions of dollars of Spanish-speaking investors
Orlando, Florida. - Tech experts describe the world of cryptocurrencies as the new Wild West. Just like the Wild West of yesteryear, they say there are outlaws and bandits ready to take your money.
Federal prosecutors have filed charges against three men from central Florida: Ramรณn Antonio Pรฉrez Arias, Juan Antonio Tacuri Fajardo and Josรฉ Ramiro Coronado Reyes. They say the trio conspired with a Brazilian man, Francisley Valdevino da Silva, to deceive hundreds of mostly Spanish-speaking investors out of more than $8 million through a cryptocurrency platform called Forcount.
โThe SEC has an excellent batting average,โ said Albert Yonfa, a partner at Nejame Law, โthey don't pursue these types of cases unless they have overwhelming evidence that it was, in fact, an illicit scheme.
The Securities and Exchange Commission says da Silva is the "self-proclaimed 'boss of the Ponzi schemers'." While this group used Forcount to lure investors with the promise of cryptocurrency wealth, prosecutors say all they were really selling was an old-fashioned pyramid. swindle.
โOkay, people have made a lot of money from cryptocurrency, but recently people have also lost millions of dollars, so I think there is so much hype around this that unfortunately it can be used to exploit people,โ he said. Orlando-based technology. expert Tom Jelneck.
Prosecutors say Forcount's app and website were launched in July 2017 and collapsed in late 2020. During that time, they say the group only used money from new investors to make it look like existing users were getting good returns, a classic Ponzi scheme. , dressed in sparkles of cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, investigators say the four suspects were buying luxury items, houses and cars with the cash. Tech experts Jelneck say investors should do their research and not fall for scammers' tricks. "I think there's a lot of common sense that needs to come into play now, and also a feeling of 'this feels too good to be true, and maybe I shouldn't look down this path.
Prosecutors say these suspects face charges including wire fraud and money laundering. Each charge could land them in prison for 20 years.
