United States prosecutors have filed charges in two separate cases against nine people who founded or promoted a pair of cryptocurrency companies that were allegedly Ponzi schemes that raked in $8.4 million from investors.
On December 14, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed the indictment, alleging that alleged cryptocurrency mining and trading companies IcomTech and Forcount promised investors "guaranteed daily returns" that could double your investment in six months
In reality, prosecutors say both firms were using money from later investors to pay off earlier investors, while other funds were spent promoting the companies and buying luxury goods and real estate.
“Luxury shows” were held in the US and abroad, along with presentations in small communities, attracting investors with promises of financial freedom and wealth
The promoters allegedly appeared at events in expensive cars, wore fancy clothes, and bragged about the money they made from investing in the company they were promoting. Investors were given access to a “portal” to monitor their returns
IcomTech and Forcount began to fall apart when users were unable to withdraw their alleged returns.
charges He brought against the creators and promoters of Forcount by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allege that the team focused primarily on Spanish-speakers and raised more than $8.4 million from "hundreds" of investors selling "memberships" that offered a part of its crypto trading and mining activities.
In an attempt to increase liquidity, both companies tabs created so they could try to pay investors with IcomTech and Forcount by launching "Icoms" and "Mindexcoin" respectively.
Apparently the token sales fell through as by 2021 both had stopped making payments to investors.
“With these two indictments, this office is sending a message to all cryptocurrency scammers: We are coming for you,” US Attorney Damian Williams said. "Stealing is stealing, even disguised in cryptocurrency jargon."
Related:Cryptocurrency has become a playground for scammers
David Carmona of Queens, New York, was named in the indictment as the founder of IcomTech and was charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud It carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Forcount's founder was named as Francisley da Silva, from Curitiba, Brazil and faces charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy which carries a maximum of 60 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
The firm's promoters face various charges related to wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to launder money and make false statements.
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