The pyramid scheme that the United States began to dismantle in 2022 had a much larger dimension than that known until now.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this Thursday the filing of charges against 17 more people (there were already two accused) for a scam carried out through the CriptoFX firm that promised great returns with cryptocurrencies and that came to raise more than 300 million dollars (more than 275 million euros).
According to the document, the pyramid scheme was aimed mainly at the Latino community in the United States and more than 40,000 people were affected.
The mastermind of the plot, Mauricio Chávez, presented himself as a cryptocurrency expert willing to teach the secret of his success to Latin investors.
He asked them to trust him with their money under promises of high returns.
In reality, he allocated most of the money to payments that gave credibility to the Ponzi scheme, his own investments (such as the purchase of houses, jewelry and a car) and personal expenses, including in hostess clubs, according to the US financial supervisor, according to already warned the American supervisor when ordering the cessation of CryptoFX operations.
CryptoFX was headquartered in Houston, Texas, but it raised money from investors in at least 10 US states and two other foreign countries, according to the SEC.
The supervisor's complaint alleges that from May 2020 to October 2022, the 17 additional charged individuals from Texas, California, Louisiana, Illinois and Florida, ages 28 to 60, were part of the CryptoFX network and solicited money from investors promising in various ways that they would achieve returns of 15% to 100% trading crypto assets and currencies.
“We denounced CryptoFX as a $300 million pyramid scheme that targeted Latino investors with promises of financial freedom and life-changing wealth from 'risk-free' and 'guaranteed' investments in cryptocurrencies and currencies,” he said. Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, in a statement.
“In the end, the only thing CryptoFX guaranteed was a trail of thousands and thousands of victims that stretched across 10 states and two foreign countries.
"A scheme of that size requires many participants, and as today's action demonstrates, we will pursue charges not only against the main architects of these massive schemes, but against all those who promote their fraud by illegally soliciting money from victims," he added.
In the seminars they organized, they assured victims that these were risk-free investments and that their money was insured even if there was a world war or a general blackout.
They were also promoted in Zoom meetings and through social networks.
They mainly attracted cash investments, from $500 to $300,000.
They set up a pyramid scheme so that the victims could bring more investors into the scheme.
They promised a 7% commission for each of the investors they attracted and an additional 3% for those brought in by second-level investors.
They also gave a special 3% bonus if the saved savers contributed amounts above a certain level.
They used millions of dollars to pay those commissions and give credibility to their Ponzi scheme.
The charge sheet ensures that two of the defendants, Gabriel Ochoa and Dulce Ochoa, continued to illegally raise money even after the supervisor intervened CryptoFX in September 2022. Gabriel Ochoa demanded that two investors cancel their complaints to the SEC so that they could recover your investments.
Another defendant, Maria Saravia, allegedly told investors that the SEC's allegation was false.
The new writing ensures that the mastermind of the plot, Mauricio Sánchez, used a million dollars from investors to buy a house in Conroe (Texas).
The initial letter already spoke of another single-family home worth $540,000 in the name of his wife.
In the 2022 complaint against Chávez and his right-hand man, Giorgio Benvenuto, the SEC alleged that Chávez spent almost $1.5 million on living a luxurious lifestyle.
Among the expenses detailed by the supervisory body are about $460,000 spent on cars, $267,000 on credit card payments, $196,000 on purchases, including some luxury establishments, $186,000 at the Post Oak Hotel, a five-star establishment in Houston where he had apparently established his residence, $110,000 in trips, $101,000 in restaurants, $19,000 more in jewelry and $15,000 in hostess clubs (“adult entertainment establishments,” the SEC called them).
The supervisor believes he also spent $30,000 buying a hair salon in Houston.
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