The scam group mobilized more than USD 384 million over six years. The co-founder of the company managed to abandon the country before the arrest.
A company in Brazil, called GAS Consultoría, received accusations related to fraud against its clients with bitcoin (BTC). Its co-founder fled the country and has continued to operate in the United States of America.
The scam guaranteed its victims a 10% monthly profit with the purchase of this cryptocurrency, as an investment plan. It was a fake promise that would lead to the latter scam.
The company, which has roots in Rio de Janeiro, was run by a couple. One of them was Glaidson Acácio Dos Santos, known as the bitcoin pharaoh, who got detained after the accusation. The other personleading the scam was Mirelis Yoseline Dias Zerpa, his wife, who moved to Miami two months before her husband’s arrest.
The Brazilian Federal Police reported that Mirelis is currently in Miami and leads the company from that area. It warns that some days after Glaidson’s arrest, she withdrew a sum that could surpass 4,000 bitcoins, a figure equivalent to USD 229 million.
At the moment, the woman cannot get detained outside of Brazil. Although, it is worth considering that the Federal Police has already added his name in the red transmission of Interpol as banned for carrying out a millionaire fraud with bitcoin.
A few months ago, the Federal Police seized USD 3.9 million and 591 bitcoins from this fraudulent activity within the framework of a plan called “Operation Cryptos.”
The sum in bitcoin seized equals USD 33 million, but they would have much more money than that, according to what the GLOBO medium found.
Investigators highlighted that GAS Consulting moved around USD 384 million since the company’s inception in 2015. The investigation took place in April 2020 when the Federal Police discovered USD 1.3 million in unrecorded cash.
The complaint indicts a couple of leaders of the bitcoin scam and fifteen other people for acting as partners in the criminal plan. They received accusations of forming a criminal organization and committing crimes against the national financial system. The case received approval from the Federal Court in Brazil. Since then, at least five people got arrested.
The scam with bitcoin also had operations in Venezuela
According to a report from HolaNews, the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) presented evidence that the couple also carried out the scam with bitcoin in Venezuela before moving to Brazil. Until 2015, the couple lived in Venezuela, the country of origin of Mirelis.
The evidence of fraud in Venezuela is a series of emails, WhatsApp messages, and posts on social networks such as Twitter and the Reddit forum. These digital documents are from alleged victims who fell into their deceiving, which worked online.
The victims have been asking for their money back and warning other people that Mirelis and Glaidson were scamming with bitcoin. Their names are even on a list of scammers from Venezuela on a website created by people who experienced various types of virtual scams.
By: Jenson Nuñez
