What just happened? It doesn't matter how many times it's said, people still fall for claims that are literally too good to be true. The DoJ has charged two men over a Ponzi scheme that promised 300% returns on investments, but ended up defrauding victims out of $650 million. The company increased its legitimacy by projecting a giant logo on the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
The DoJ writes that an indictment was unsealed yesterday in the District of Puerto Rico charging two men for their alleged roles in operating and promoting OmegaPro.
Michael Shannon Sims, named as the company's founder and promoter, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, who led its Latin America operations, are accused of running an international crypto multi-level marketing scheme that defrauded investors out of $650 million.
The indictment states that from 2019 to 2023, Sims, Reynoso, and their co-conspirators promised investors 300% returns over 16 months through foreign exchange (forex) trading by elite traders. Investors were instructed to purchase the investment packages using cryptocurrency.
But the duo falsely advertised the safety of investment in OmegaPro by vouching for the skills of its hired traders and the company's trading performance.
To attract investors and improve the legitimacy of OmegaPro, Sims and Reynoso, together with co-conspirators, hosted promotional and training events across the world. The most high-profile of these was to project the firm's logo onto the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, home of OmegaPro's headquarters.
As we so often see in cases like these, the pair also flaunted their wealth on social media. Luxury cars, expensive vacations, and designer items were repeatedly on show, a way of convincing others that OmegaPro was legit and a lucrative investment opportunity.
In January 2023, OmegaPro announced that it had suffered a network hack. It told victims their investments were secure and being transferred to another platform called Broker Group. However, victims were unable to withdraw money from their accounts on either platform as they were laundered through wallet addresses controlled by OmegaPro executives and then allegedly transferred to company insiders and high-ranking promoters.
Both defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. They face a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.
Andreas Szakacs, one of the OmegaPro co-founders, was arrested in Turkey in 2024 over allegations that he defrauded investors out of $4 billion through a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.