In a landmark ruling, AirBit Club co-founder Pablo Renato Rodriguez has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels.
According to According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Rodriguez, along with his co-conspirators, was the mastermind behind a sprawling global pyramid scheme that defrauded investors of millions of dollars through false promises of cryptocurrency trading and mining profits.
AirBit co-founder convicted of $100 million crypto fraud
According to the DOJs Investigation revealed that the elaborate scheme involved luring unsuspecting and often inexperienced investors into purchasing AirBit Club memberships with the guarantee of substantial returns.
However, instead of engaging in legitimate cryptocurrency activities, Rodriguez and his cohorts allegedly diverted the funds for personal gain while using a complex money laundering operation to hide their ill-gotten gains.
Rodriguez’s co-defendants, Gutemberg Dos Santos, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan and Karina Chairez, have already pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the fraudulent proceeds, which included a staggering $100 million worth of assets, such as US currency, Bitcoin (BTC) and real estate.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams described Rodriguez’s actions as a blatant exploitation of cryptocurrency for fraudulent purposes and emphasized the importance of this case in deterring potential fraudsters from making false promises about lucrative cryptocurrency investments.
Troubling pattern of fraudulent ventures
According to court documents, Rodriguez and Dos Santos founded AirBit Club in 2015 and “aggressively” marketed it as a multilevel marketing club operating in the cryptocurrency industry.
The duo allegedly organized extravagant exhibitions and presentations around the world, luring victims into investing cash and giving them access to an online portal offering fake investment returns.
As far back as 2016, victims who tried to withdraw money were faced with excuses, delays and excessive hidden fees. The scheme’s architects, including Rodriguez, spent the defrauded money on luxury items, financed more exhibitions to attract additional victims and diverted money through a network of domestic and foreign bank accounts.
According to the DOJ, Rodriguez’s trust account, controlled by Scott Hughes, played a crucial role in covering up the murder. illegal proceeds from the AirBit Club program.
Before AirBit Club, Rodriguez and Dos Santos were involved in another pyramid investment plan called Vizinova, which led to a legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Hughes, an attorney who represented Rodriguez and Dos Santos in the Vizinova case, later helped them commit the AirBit Club fraud by removing negative information about both schemes from the Internet.
Rodriguez’s conviction brings justice to one of the key figures responsible for defrauding countless victims through AirBit Club.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com