Cryptocurrency scams continue to crop up in South America. After the illegal activities linked to crypto assets in cases such as that of Generación ZOE in Argentina, now the Brazilian authorities have announced that they are after the search for the creators of a similar structure called Alpha Consultoría.
Alpha Consulting was created in February 2021 by Sadraqui de Freitas and Nathan Assis de Oliveira. Both served as a vehicle for scam more than 2,000 people with the promise that they would have returns of 30% per month on investments with cryptocurrencies, according to a release from the local police.
The alarms went off for investors, when Freitas and Oliveira began to fall behind on payments. The subjects argued that their accounts in a cryptocurrency exchange had been blocked.
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However, the police investigation determined that the alleged blockade did not happen, but rather that the funds available in the company’s accounts were too low to meet the financial commitments. In total, the authorities estimate that the alleged criminals seized USD 43 million.
After discovering the fraudulent plot, the Brazilian police launched an operation called Operation Aria, in which they went after the search for Freitas and Oliveira for several of their properties, but so far they have not found the whereabouts of the fugitives.
Even though both men already had criminal records For embezzlement, criminal organization, criminal association, money laundering and crimes against the popular economy, they had never been arrested.
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Another Ponzi scheme fell in the region
As mentioned at the beginning, one of the most notorious alleged fraud cases in Latin America was the one carried out by Leonardo Cositorto, through Generación ZOE in Argentina and which later spread to several countries in the region and Europe.
Cositorto was arrested this week in the Dominican Republic, after Argentina requested his capture through Interpol last February. Currently, he is working so that the authorities of the Caribbean island authorize his transfer to his country of origin, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The Ponzi scheme devised by Cositorto offered multiple sources of income ranging from 7.5% to 10% monthly, with yields in dollars. He operated his own cryptocurrency called Zoe Cash, capital markets, trading, foreign exchange, soccer teams, and other businesses.
In this type of fraud, they usually attract their victims with promises of great profits, and if something looks too good to be true, it is probably because it is not. In that sense, CriptoNoticias recommends educating yourself, investigating in depth before making an investment, not believing everything you read, resorting only to reliable companies anduse common sense.