3 Brazilian Men Jailed for Bitcoin Investment Ponzi Scheme
A Brazilian court sentenced three men to prison for their roles in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded investors out of roughly $190 million.
Quick overview
- A Brazilian court sentenced three men to a total of 170 years in prison for their involvement in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of approximately $190 million.
- The defendants, linked to the company Braiscompany, were accused of promising deceitful returns in Bitcoin and were investigated by police starting in 2023.
- Joel Ferreira de Souza, the alleged mastermind, received the maximum sentence of 128 years, while the trio was ordered to return R$36.5 million ($6.2 million) to investors.
- This case marks the largest cryptocurrency scam in Brazil's history, highlighting the country's growing involvement in digital assets.
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A Brazilian court sentenced three men to prison for their roles in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that allegedly defrauded investors out of roughly $190 million.
Local media reports that Joel Ferreira de Souza, Gesana Rayane da Silva, and Victor Augusto Veronez de Souza received a total sentence of 170 years in prison from the court for their roles in managing Braiscompany.
Prosecutors claimed that Braiscompany deceitfully promised investors returns in Bitcoin.
The company was accused of being a pyramid scheme as early as 2021, and in 2023, Brazilian police began investigating Braiscompany. Ferreira de Souza, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, was given the maximum sentence of 128 years in prison by the prosecution
Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office accused the three of stealing over $190 million and over R$11 billion from about 20,000 investors, many of whom had money in the scheme.
The defendants were ordered to return R$36.5 million ($6.2 million) to investors after having some of their assets seized. The scam is the largest cryptocurrency scam in the nation’s history, according to local media.
Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, is a crypto hotspot. It boasts more Bitcoin ETFs than any other country in the region, and many of its major banks provide investors with exposure to digital assets.
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