Federal prosecutors in America have charged two men in connection with a %Cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded victims of more than $650 million U.S.
The indictment accuses Michael Shannon Sims, age 48, of Florida, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, age 57, of New Jersey, of operating and promoting OmegaPro, an international crypto multi-level marketing scheme that promised investors 300% returns over 16 months.
“OmegaPro promised financial freedom but delivered financial ruin,” said the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in a news release announcing the charges.
From 2019 to 2023, Sims, Reynoso and their co-conspirators lured thousands of victims worldwide to purchase “investment packages” using cryptocurrencies such as %Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC), and falsely claiming the funds would be safely managed by forex traders.
Prosecutors claim the pair flaunted their wealth through social media and extravagant events, including projecting the %OmegaPro logo onto the Burj Khalifa, Dubai’s tallest building.
In reality, authorities allege that OmegaPro was nothing more than a classic pyramid scheme.
When the company claimed it had suffered a hack, the defendants told victims they had transferred their funds to a new platform called Broker Group.
However, users were never able to withdraw their money from either platform and lost a combined $650 million U.S.
The two men face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The U.S. Justice Department, FBI, and IRS-Criminal Investigation unit led the multiagency investigation that resulted in charges being brought against the two men.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is currently trading at $109,450 U.S., having gained 17% this year.
