Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, has sentenced Juan Tacuri, a senior promoter of the Forcount (Weltsys) Ponzi scheme, to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the fraudulent act that reaped millions of dollars from thousands of investors.
More than 20 investors who lost huge funds from the Forcount scheme were present at the court to give victim impact statements, testifying against Tacuri.
Forcount Crypto Mining Ponzi Scheme
According to the court statements, Tacuri and his allies presented Forcount to investors as a crypto mining and trading firm that allowed investors to buy crypto investment products and receive daily returns on their purchases.
Investors purchased the crypto products from different promoters, including Tacuri, using cash, wire transfers, and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, investors had an online investment portal where they could see their deposits and monitor their profits.
However, Tacuri and other promoters were not mining or trading any cryptocurrencies as they claimed. Instead, they were using funds deposited by late investors to repay early investors while spending a larger portion on themselves, acquiring real estate, and living a luxurious lifestyle.
Moreover, Forcount promoters launched and started selling “Mindexcoin,” a crypto token fully controlled by the Ponzi system, to inject liquidity into the scheme. They lied to investors that the coin would increase in value if many companies accepted it as a means of payment.
When investors could not withdraw their profits or deposits from the online portal, Tacuri and his allies told them it was a temporary delay.
While claiming to be legit after the withdrawal error, they continued to promote and advertise the project to many new investors, who became victims and lost their funds to the Forcount Ponzi scheme.
However, they stopped advertising and promoting Forcount in 2021 when Tacuri and others ghosted their investors, disappearing into thin air with the funds they stole from them.
Court Action
Tacuri was one of the most successful Forcount promoters. He acquired a house in his hometown, Florida, with part of the money he earned from the scheme.
Following his court hearing and prison sentence, he will surrender all rights and titles to his home in Florida.
Moreover, he will forfeit $3,610,718.67 and pay at least the same amount to compensate investors for losses.
“Juan Tacuri may have claimed to be involved in cutting-edge cryptocurrency investing, but, in reality, he was running one of the oldest tricks in the book: a Ponzi scheme,” Attorney Williams said, adding “Today’s sentence should serve as a stark reminder that, in the long run, fraud does not pay.”
Meanwhile, he commended all the agencies involved in investigating and apprehending Tacuri.
