Two men have been charged with allegedly running a global crypto investment scam that took more than US$650 million from investors.
U.S. authorities filed charges in connection with an international investment scheme, OmegaPro, launched in early 2019 as a multi-level marketing operation that promised investors high returns from a proprietary trading strategy.
The scheme, which was heavily promoted on social media, allegedly misled investors about the skills and performance of its traders, and about the safety of investors’ assets, authorities said.
According to the indictment, the scheme raised US$650 million worth of crypto from investors as a result of these misrepresentations. However, instead of being used for trading, the assets were allegedly transferred to crypto wallets controlled by OmegaPro executives, insiders and the scheme’s top promoters.
U.S. authorities charged OmegaPro’s alleged founder, Michael Shannon Sims, and the alleged head of its operations in Latin America, Juan Carlos Reynoso, with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants operated a global fraud scheme through OmegaPro that deceived investors with false promises of extraordinary returns, only to misappropriate hundreds of millions of victim funds,” said Stephen Muldrow, U.S. attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, in a release.
The allegations have not been proven, and the accused are presumed innocent.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement — an alliance of tax authorities from Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and the Netherlands.