KANALCOIN NEWS – Pablo Renato Rodriguez, co-founder of AirBit Club, along with his co-conspirators, masterminded a global pyramid scheme that defrauded investors of millions of dollars. Through false promises of cryptocurrency trading and mining profits. This is the reason why the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sentenced Rodriguez to 12 years in prison by US District Judge George B. Daniels.
Sentencing For $100 Million Crypto Fraud
According to the DOJ, Rodriguez’s method was to lure inexperienced and unsuspecting investors into buying AirBit Club memberships with the promise of big profits.
Instead of providing benefits to members by involving them in crypto activities. Rodriguez actually used these funds to enrich himself and benefit himself. By carrying out complex money laundering operations to hide these profits.
The defendants, namely Rodriguez, Gutemberg Dos Santos, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, and Karina Chairez, have admitted their guilt and are awaiting sentencing. The court has also ordered the confiscation of the proceeds of the fraud. In the form of assets worth $100 million, such as US currency, Bitcoin (BTC), and real estate.
Of the case’s massive exploitation of cryptocurrencies, US Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the importance of this case in preventing would-be fraudsters from making false promises about profitable cryptocurrency investments.
Common Fraud Mode
Rodriguez and Dos Santos organized massive exhibitions and presentations around the world, persuading victims to invest in cash and giving them access to online portals displaying fake investment results. This comes after the duo founded AirBit Club in 2015 and aggressively marketed it as a multi-level marketing club operating in the cryptocurrency industry.
Until early 2016, the victims began to become suspicious when they had difficulty withdrawing their money. The duo gave many reasons, postponed it, and even hid from investors. Rodriguez spent a lot of the fraudulent money to buy luxury goods. Fund lots of exhibitions so that more people will join. As well as siphoning funds through a network of domestic and foreign bank accounts.
According to the DOJ, Rodriguez’s attorney trust account, managed by Scott Hughes, played a key role in concealing the case as well as stolen funds from the AirBit Club scheme. Prior to this case, Rodriguez and Dos Santos were involved in another club using a pyramid investment scheme called Vizinova. The case led to a legal dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The duo then, assisted by Hughes, a lawyer who represented Rodriguez and Dos Santos in the Vizinova case, carried out the AirBit Club fraud by deleting negative information about the two schemes from the internet. With the resolution of this case, the US Department of Justice has enforced the law on one of the key figures responsible for defrauding many victims through AirBit Club.
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