The U.S. Department of Justice has charged nine citizens with running the IcomTech and Forcount cryptocurrency fraudulent schemes, also known as Weltsys, and money laundering.
According to the prosecutor's office, the creators of the IcomTech and Forcount projects were engaged in mining and trading cryptocurrencies, promising investors daily profits from investing in certain investment products. At the end of six months after the deposit was made, the investors' profits should have doubled.
The attackers received funds from their victims in the form of cash, checks, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies. The IcomTech scheme operated from mid-2018 to the end of 2019, while Forcount operated from mid-2017 to the end of 2021.
The organizers of these schemes claimed that in the future, the rate of their Icoms and Mindexcoin tokens would increase significantly. In their personal accounts on fraudulent platforms, victims saw the accumulation of "profits", however, most of them were unable to withdraw their funds and ended up losing all the money invested.
The prosecutor's office also found out that in fact, none of these projects were engaged in mining or trading cryptocurrencies. The funds raised from the victims were paid by the fraudsters to subsequent depositors in order to lure even more people into their scam.
To inspire trust and impress potential investors, the attackers created luxurious exhibitions and presentations. In addition, the fraudsters spent user funds on personal expenses, luxury goods, and the purchase of real estate.
"Theft is theft, even if it is carried out under the guise of cryptocurrencies", said U.S. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
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Former IcomTech executive Marco Ruiz Ochoa admitted to deceiving investors through a cryptocurrency pyramid. This is reported by the US Department of Justice.
According to the case file, 35-year-old Ochoa, together with his accomplices, promised customers daily profits from investments in cryptocurrency trading and mining. However, IcomTech did not conduct any investment activities, its creators spent the funds on themselves.
To maintain the image of a successful company, promoters appeared at events in expensive cars and in luxurious clothes.
Since 2018, IcomTech customers have tried to withdraw money, but have faced various excuses and delays, as well as the need to pay a previously undiscussed fee.
By the end of 2019, the pyramid collapsed.
Ochoa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
"The fact that the criminal pleaded guilty proves that we are prosecuting all those who try to use cryptocurrencies to commit fraud," said US Attorney General Damian Williams.
In May, the CFTC also filed charges against Ochoa and other IcomTech executives, including David Carmona, Juan Arellano Parra and Moses Valdez. The department said that their scheme was aimed at Hispanic communities.
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The founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency pyramid IcomTech, Marc Ruiz Ochoa, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in attracting investors.
Earlier, the accused had already pleaded guilty to fraud. Yesterday, a court hearing took place, as a result of which Marco Ruiz Ochoa was sentenced to five years in prison. In addition, the court ordered him to pay $914,000 in illegal proceeds, and also sentenced him to two years of observation after his release.
"Ochoa took advantage of the hype surrounding the cryptocurrency sphere to trick unsuspecting victims into investing in the IcomTech pyramid scheme. We warn that anyone who follows in his footsteps will face severe punishment", said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Recall that the IcomTech pyramid declared itself as a mining and trading company, offering customers "investment products tied to cryptocurrencies". However, according to US law enforcement agencies, the company did not conduct any mining and other activities, but existed according to the standard Ponzi scheme.
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Two people were found guilty of promoting the IcomTech cryptocurrency pyramid.
A New York jury has found two former promoters of the IcomTech cryptocurrency pyramid guilty of conspiracy using electronic fraud. This is reported by the US Department of Justice.
According to the case file, Gustavo Rodriguez has been creating a website for IcomTech since mid-2018, which positioned itself as a mining and trading company. David Brand, together with the founders of the project, attracted customers, guaranteeing daily profits.
In reality, IcomTech worked on the principle of a Ponzi scheme, paying dividends from the deposits of new users. Most of the funds were used for real estate purchases, travel, and "luxury presentations".
Clients saw an increase in funds through their personal account, but could not withdraw them from the platform.
As complaints grew, IcomTech implemented the native Icoms token, however, this only resulted in additional losses.
By the end of 2019, the pyramid collapsed.
According to prosecutors, in total, "tens of thousands of people with tens of millions of dollars in damage" were affected by IcomTech's activities.
The final verdict to Brenda and Rodriguez will be issued on June 27 and 28, respectively. They face up to 20 years in prison.
Also, the founder of the scheme, David Carmona, who pleaded guilty at the end of last year, is awaiting the final consideration of his case.
Recall that the former executive director of IcomTech, Marco Ruiz Ochoa, was sentenced to five years in prison. He confessed to deceiving investors in September 2023.
Source
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Juan Takuri, one of the main organizers of the Forcount cryptocurrency scheme, which raised about $8.4 million from Spanish-speaking investors around the world, pleaded guilty to fraud.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said Juan Tacuri, a 46-year-old Florida resident, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The man faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Takuri agreed to return $4 million to his victims, as well as real estate purchased with investors' funds.
Takuri and other Forcount promoters guaranteed investors that their investment would double within six months. Prosecutors allege that Takuri traveled around the U.S., staging lavish exhibitions to find new investors, luring them with promises of "financial freedom." Later it turned out that Forcount had never been engaged in mining and crypto trading. Takuri and his partners used the money of new investors to pay early investors, and also squandered the money raised on real estate and a luxurious lifestyle.
In 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Takuri and three other participants in the scheme of violating securities laws. In the same year, the U.S. Department of Justice accused several citizens of running the IcomTech and Forcount crypto scams, known as Weltsys, and money laundering. The court hearing in the Takuri case is scheduled for September 24 in New York. The verdict is to be handed down by District Judge Analisa Torres, who oversees the SEC's lawsuit against the Ripple crypto company.
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David Carmona, the founder of the Ponzi cryptocurrency scheme IcomTech, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit electronic fraud.
Carmona was the "mastermind" behind IcomTech, which "preyed on working-class people, promising them complete financial freedom in exchange for parting with their hard-earned money," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in an Oct. 4 statement.
The founder told investors that the funds would be invested in cryptocurrency trading and mining, and profits would double every six months, but that didn't happen, Williams said:
"IcomTech didn't really do anything like that. All this was a lie. And when the scheme collapsed, Carmona's victims were left with nothing. The time when Carmona deceived honest people has come to an end, and now he faces a long prison term."
In addition to 121 months in prison, Carmona was sentenced to three years of parole.
The IcomTech Ponzi scheme generated around $8.4 million in victims from mid-2018 to the end of 2019.
Carmona and other IcomTech promoters traveled frequently in the U.S. and abroad, where they held "luxury exhibitions" aimed at luring victims into a Ponzi scheme.
They often came to these events in expensive cars and luxurious clothes, showing off the money they earned to convince potential investors that they could achieve the same level of financial success.
But soon those who were lured began to have problems.
Many victims began to complain when they were unable to withdraw the "profits" they saw accumulated on the online portal and were often met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees from the IcomTech team, if they could withdraw at all.
As complaints grew, IcomTech offered a token called "Icoms" to raise extra money on the false claim that companies would accept it as payments.
Icoms was essentially worthless and led to further losses as IcomTech collapsed in 2019 and stopped making payments.
Related: Polymarket's chances on who HBO chooses as Satoshi Nakamoto prefers Len Sassamana
Carmona pleaded guilty to electronic fraud conspiracy in December 2023.
Former IcomTech CEO Marco Ruiz Ochoa was also sentenced in January to five years in prison.
Meanwhile, in March, IcomTech promoters David Brand and Gustavo Rodriguez were found guilty of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud.
Source
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Juan Takuri, the senior promoter of the Forcount Ponzi scheme, which was later renamed Weltsys, was sentenced on October 15 to 20 years in prison.
According to a report from the Southern District of New York, Takuri was also ordered to pay $3,610,718 in compensation and sentenced to one year of supervised release after his jail time.
Prosecutors said Takuri's fraudulent scheme is targeting victims around the world, but mainly Hispanic communities.
The 240-month sentence handed down by Judge Analisa Torres represents the maximum sentence provided for by law. Following the ruling, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams remarked,
"Juan Takuri may have claimed to be involved in cutting-edge cryptocurrency investments, but he actually used one of the oldest tricks in the book – a Ponzi scheme".
In conclusion, the prosecutor said that the maximum sentence imposed by Judge Torres was "a stark reminder that in the long run, fraud does not pay off".
Forcount Ponzi
Details According to the Department of Justice, Forcount's founders and promoters have told potential customers that the shell firm is a cryptocurrency mining and trading company. Takuri and others lured victims with promises of regular payments from alleged Forcount operations.
Prosecutors said Takuri and others held "luxury events" across the United States to generate interest in investment products that promised to double investors' capital in six months. However, there were no goods, and the promoters spent the money stolen from unsuspecting victims on luxury goods and real estate.
Court documents showed that customers reported problems with withdrawals back in 2018, and scammers stopped responding to customer complaints altogether in 2021. In 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed charges against Francisli da Silva, the founder of Forcount.
In June 2024, Takuri pleaded guilty to electronic fraud and conspiracy, and in July, Antonia Pérez Hernández and Néstor Núñez, who were also supporters of the Forcount scheme, pleaded guilty to electronic fraud and conspiracy.
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Gustavo Rodriguez, who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud to promote the cryptocurrency mining and trading company IcomTech, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
At a hearing on October 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Jennifer Rochon said she found "intentionally false statements" in Rodriguez's testimony, which requires a tougher sentence to eight years.
According to an Inner City Press report in the courtroom, prosecutors claimed that the IcomTech promoter was "ruthless" and "gave perjury for several days".
"I don't believe he's a sociopath", Judge Rochon said. "He created a back office and a website that made it possible. It has not made a profit like other [...] There are many cryptocurrency scams, they need to be contained".
The eight-year sentence was less than the U.S. government's request that Judge Rochon sentence Rodriguez to 160 months in prison. His lawyers demanded to serve his sentence.
According to the prosecutor's office, the creators of the IcomTech and Forcount projects were engaged in mining and trading cryptocurrencies, promising investors daily profits from investing in certain investment products. At the end of six months after the deposit was made, the investors' profits should have doubled.
The attackers received funds from their victims in the form of cash, checks, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies. The IcomTech scheme operated from mid-2018 to the end of 2019, while Forcount operated from mid-2017 to the end of 2021.
The organizers of these schemes claimed that in the future, the rate of their Icoms and Mindexcoin tokens would increase significantly. In their personal accounts on fraudulent platforms, victims saw the accumulation of "profits", however, most of them were unable to withdraw their funds and ended up losing all the money invested.
The prosecutor's office also found out that in fact, none of these projects were engaged in mining or trading cryptocurrencies. The funds raised from the victims were paid by the fraudsters to subsequent depositors in order to lure even more people into their scam.
To inspire trust and impress potential investors, the attackers created luxurious exhibitions and presentations. In addition, the fraudsters spent user funds on personal expenses, luxury goods, and the purchase of real estate.
"Theft is theft, even if it is carried out under the guise of cryptocurrencies", said U.S. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
---
Former IcomTech executive Marco Ruiz Ochoa admitted to deceiving investors through a cryptocurrency pyramid. This is reported by the US Department of Justice.
According to the case file, 35-year-old Ochoa, together with his accomplices, promised customers daily profits from investments in cryptocurrency trading and mining. However, IcomTech did not conduct any investment activities, its creators spent the funds on themselves.
To maintain the image of a successful company, promoters appeared at events in expensive cars and in luxurious clothes.
Since 2018, IcomTech customers have tried to withdraw money, but have faced various excuses and delays, as well as the need to pay a previously undiscussed fee.
By the end of 2019, the pyramid collapsed.
Ochoa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
"The fact that the criminal pleaded guilty proves that we are prosecuting all those who try to use cryptocurrencies to commit fraud," said US Attorney General Damian Williams.
In May, the CFTC also filed charges against Ochoa and other IcomTech executives, including David Carmona, Juan Arellano Parra and Moses Valdez. The department said that their scheme was aimed at Hispanic communities.
Source
----
The founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency pyramid IcomTech, Marc Ruiz Ochoa, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in attracting investors.
Earlier, the accused had already pleaded guilty to fraud. Yesterday, a court hearing took place, as a result of which Marco Ruiz Ochoa was sentenced to five years in prison. In addition, the court ordered him to pay $914,000 in illegal proceeds, and also sentenced him to two years of observation after his release.
"Ochoa took advantage of the hype surrounding the cryptocurrency sphere to trick unsuspecting victims into investing in the IcomTech pyramid scheme. We warn that anyone who follows in his footsteps will face severe punishment", said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
Recall that the IcomTech pyramid declared itself as a mining and trading company, offering customers "investment products tied to cryptocurrencies". However, according to US law enforcement agencies, the company did not conduct any mining and other activities, but existed according to the standard Ponzi scheme.
------
Two people were found guilty of promoting the IcomTech cryptocurrency pyramid.
A New York jury has found two former promoters of the IcomTech cryptocurrency pyramid guilty of conspiracy using electronic fraud. This is reported by the US Department of Justice.
According to the case file, Gustavo Rodriguez has been creating a website for IcomTech since mid-2018, which positioned itself as a mining and trading company. David Brand, together with the founders of the project, attracted customers, guaranteeing daily profits.
In reality, IcomTech worked on the principle of a Ponzi scheme, paying dividends from the deposits of new users. Most of the funds were used for real estate purchases, travel, and "luxury presentations".
Clients saw an increase in funds through their personal account, but could not withdraw them from the platform.
As complaints grew, IcomTech implemented the native Icoms token, however, this only resulted in additional losses.
By the end of 2019, the pyramid collapsed.
According to prosecutors, in total, "tens of thousands of people with tens of millions of dollars in damage" were affected by IcomTech's activities.
The final verdict to Brenda and Rodriguez will be issued on June 27 and 28, respectively. They face up to 20 years in prison.
Also, the founder of the scheme, David Carmona, who pleaded guilty at the end of last year, is awaiting the final consideration of his case.
Recall that the former executive director of IcomTech, Marco Ruiz Ochoa, was sentenced to five years in prison. He confessed to deceiving investors in September 2023.
Source
------
Juan Takuri, one of the main organizers of the Forcount cryptocurrency scheme, which raised about $8.4 million from Spanish-speaking investors around the world, pleaded guilty to fraud.
Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, said Juan Tacuri, a 46-year-old Florida resident, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. The man faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Takuri agreed to return $4 million to his victims, as well as real estate purchased with investors' funds.
Takuri and other Forcount promoters guaranteed investors that their investment would double within six months. Prosecutors allege that Takuri traveled around the U.S., staging lavish exhibitions to find new investors, luring them with promises of "financial freedom." Later it turned out that Forcount had never been engaged in mining and crypto trading. Takuri and his partners used the money of new investors to pay early investors, and also squandered the money raised on real estate and a luxurious lifestyle.
In 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Takuri and three other participants in the scheme of violating securities laws. In the same year, the U.S. Department of Justice accused several citizens of running the IcomTech and Forcount crypto scams, known as Weltsys, and money laundering. The court hearing in the Takuri case is scheduled for September 24 in New York. The verdict is to be handed down by District Judge Analisa Torres, who oversees the SEC's lawsuit against the Ripple crypto company.
---
David Carmona, the founder of the Ponzi cryptocurrency scheme IcomTech, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit electronic fraud.
Carmona was the "mastermind" behind IcomTech, which "preyed on working-class people, promising them complete financial freedom in exchange for parting with their hard-earned money," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in an Oct. 4 statement.
The founder told investors that the funds would be invested in cryptocurrency trading and mining, and profits would double every six months, but that didn't happen, Williams said:
"IcomTech didn't really do anything like that. All this was a lie. And when the scheme collapsed, Carmona's victims were left with nothing. The time when Carmona deceived honest people has come to an end, and now he faces a long prison term."
In addition to 121 months in prison, Carmona was sentenced to three years of parole.
The IcomTech Ponzi scheme generated around $8.4 million in victims from mid-2018 to the end of 2019.
Carmona and other IcomTech promoters traveled frequently in the U.S. and abroad, where they held "luxury exhibitions" aimed at luring victims into a Ponzi scheme.
They often came to these events in expensive cars and luxurious clothes, showing off the money they earned to convince potential investors that they could achieve the same level of financial success.
But soon those who were lured began to have problems.
Many victims began to complain when they were unable to withdraw the "profits" they saw accumulated on the online portal and were often met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees from the IcomTech team, if they could withdraw at all.
As complaints grew, IcomTech offered a token called "Icoms" to raise extra money on the false claim that companies would accept it as payments.
Icoms was essentially worthless and led to further losses as IcomTech collapsed in 2019 and stopped making payments.
Related: Polymarket's chances on who HBO chooses as Satoshi Nakamoto prefers Len Sassamana
Carmona pleaded guilty to electronic fraud conspiracy in December 2023.
Former IcomTech CEO Marco Ruiz Ochoa was also sentenced in January to five years in prison.
Meanwhile, in March, IcomTech promoters David Brand and Gustavo Rodriguez were found guilty of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud.
Source
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Juan Takuri, the senior promoter of the Forcount Ponzi scheme, which was later renamed Weltsys, was sentenced on October 15 to 20 years in prison.
According to a report from the Southern District of New York, Takuri was also ordered to pay $3,610,718 in compensation and sentenced to one year of supervised release after his jail time.
Prosecutors said Takuri's fraudulent scheme is targeting victims around the world, but mainly Hispanic communities.
The 240-month sentence handed down by Judge Analisa Torres represents the maximum sentence provided for by law. Following the ruling, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams remarked,
"Juan Takuri may have claimed to be involved in cutting-edge cryptocurrency investments, but he actually used one of the oldest tricks in the book – a Ponzi scheme".
In conclusion, the prosecutor said that the maximum sentence imposed by Judge Torres was "a stark reminder that in the long run, fraud does not pay off".
Forcount Ponzi
Details According to the Department of Justice, Forcount's founders and promoters have told potential customers that the shell firm is a cryptocurrency mining and trading company. Takuri and others lured victims with promises of regular payments from alleged Forcount operations.
Prosecutors said Takuri and others held "luxury events" across the United States to generate interest in investment products that promised to double investors' capital in six months. However, there were no goods, and the promoters spent the money stolen from unsuspecting victims on luxury goods and real estate.
Court documents showed that customers reported problems with withdrawals back in 2018, and scammers stopped responding to customer complaints altogether in 2021. In 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed charges against Francisli da Silva, the founder of Forcount.
In June 2024, Takuri pleaded guilty to electronic fraud and conspiracy, and in July, Antonia Pérez Hernández and Néstor Núñez, who were also supporters of the Forcount scheme, pleaded guilty to electronic fraud and conspiracy.
--
Gustavo Rodriguez, who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud to promote the cryptocurrency mining and trading company IcomTech, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
At a hearing on October 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Jennifer Rochon said she found "intentionally false statements" in Rodriguez's testimony, which requires a tougher sentence to eight years.
According to an Inner City Press report in the courtroom, prosecutors claimed that the IcomTech promoter was "ruthless" and "gave perjury for several days".
"I don't believe he's a sociopath", Judge Rochon said. "He created a back office and a website that made it possible. It has not made a profit like other [...] There are many cryptocurrency scams, they need to be contained".
The eight-year sentence was less than the U.S. government's request that Judge Rochon sentence Rodriguez to 160 months in prison. His lawyers demanded to serve his sentence.
