Juan Tacuri, one of the individuals who promoted the crypto Ponzi scheme called Forcount (later known as Weltsys), has been sentenced to 240 months, or 20 years, in prison.
The sentencing took place in the Southern District of New York, where U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres presided over the case.
According to the filing, Tacuri was a main promoter of the scheme which scammed investors of over $8.4 million. The scheme targeted thousands of investors, mainly in Spanish-speaking communities across the United States.
Tacuri promised investors high returns on their money, claiming that they would earn guaranteed daily profits and even double their investments within six months.
It was later found that Forcount itself was not involved in real cryptocurrency trading or mining. Instead, it was a classic Ponzi scheme, using money from new investors to pay earlier ones.
According to the report, Tacuri travelled around the U.S., hosting events and community presentations to attract victims by flashing his wealth dressed in expensive designer clothing and luxury watches.
Most of the victims then invest in cash, checks, wire transfers, and even crypto with the hope of financial freedom.
Once they invest, they are given access to an online portal that shows their supposed profit. But unfortunately, most of them were unable to withdraw their money.
Meanwhile, Tacuri and other promoters took the investment and instead spent it on luxury items and real estate in Florida.
As complaints from victims started piling up, Tacuri began making excuses, saying there were delays and hidden funds.
At a point, the scheme even started selling worthless tokens called “Mindexcoin” to cover up its financial troubles. Tacuri falsely claimed these tokens would eventually be valuable, but they were useless.
By 2021, Forcount had stopped making payments, and Tacuri also stopped promoting the scheme. He was later arrested in 2022 and pleaded guilty.
In addition to his prison sentence, Tacuri received one year of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $3,610,718.67 and also his home in Florida.
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