WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) A dual US-Brazilian national faces charges of fraud and money laundering using cryptocurrencies following his extradition from Panama, the Justice Department said in a press release on Monday.
"Dos Santos played a key role in an international investment scam that promised extraordinary rates of return on phantom investments in cryptocurrencies, defrauding victims of tens of millions of Dollars," Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss said in the release.
Dos Santos, who was extradited to the United States on November 25, is charged along with five co-defendants with defrauding individuals through investments in AirBit Club, "a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company," the release said.
Beginning in 2015, Dos Santos and his co-defendants - Pablo Rodriguez, Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, Karina Chairez and Jackie Aguilar - traveled throughout the United States, and around the world to places in Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe, where they hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at convincing victims to purchase AirBit Club memberships, the release added.
As early as 2016, victims who attempted to withdraw money from the AirBit Club Online Portal and complained were met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees amounting to more than 50 percent. However, the defendants were able to siphon at least $20 million in proceeds from customer accounts, according to the release.
