Forcount Ponzi founder Francisley Valdevino Da Silva (aka Francis Silva), has been indicted within the US and arrested in Brazil.
Two prime Forcount Ponzi promoters within the US have additionally been indicted.
Forcount was a late 2017 MLM crypto Ponzi, launched as a reboot of the collapsed Cointherum Ponzi scheme.
Forcount traders invested litecoin and ethereum on the promise of a 0.01% to three% every day ROI.
The ruse behind Forcount’s every day ROI was cryptocurrency mining and buying and selling.
As alleged by the DOJ and confirming BehindMLM’s 2018 ForCount evaluate;
Forcount was a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. Forcount didn’t commerce or mine cryptocurrency.
As a substitute, the defendants used Sufferer funds to pay different victims, to additional promoter the Forcount Scheme to pay different victims, and to make private expenditures.
Though some victims acquired small payouts from Forcount, most Victims misplaced their complete investments, which have been steadily within the 1000’s of even tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.
BehindMLM understands that US authorities started investigating Forcount following complaints filed by victims in Florida.
Forcount founder Francis Silva (proper), referred to himself because the “Cryptocurrency Sheik”.
Like each MLM Ponzi scheme, Silva and prime promoters Tacuri and Hernandez acquired the vast majority of invested funds.
Silva and Tacuri withdrew tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in money collected from victims and spent sufferer’s funds on obvious promotional bills for Forcount, reminiscent of occasion venues and journey; obvious private bills, reminiscent of actual property and luxurious items; and/or different bills inconsistent with the operation of a professional cryptocurrency buying and selling and mining enterprise.
Funds invested into Forcount have been laundered by financial institution accounts arrange by shell corporations. These embody Worldwide Membership LLC, Malaga E-Commerce LLC and JT Florida Cleaners LLC – all arrange in Florida.
To throw off potential regulatory pink flags, traders have been instructed to mark their investments as cellular phone and software program purchases.
Tacuri (proper) misappropriated a minimum of $181,000 of Forcount investor funds by JT Florida Cleaners.
Tacuri spent the cash on real-estate and luxurious items.
Forcount started to break down in mid 2019. This prompted a shitcoin exit-scam.
Forcount traders have been instructed MindexCoin
would ultimately attain a price of roughly $1 or extra as soon as it turned accepted as a way of cost for items and providers.
In actuality, Mindexcoin have been basically nugatory and sure Forcount promoters have been arbitraging Mindexcoin by shopping for it for considerably much less on exterior exchanges after which reselling it at a big mark-up to victims.
BehindMLM famous MindexCoin in our Weltsys evaluate. Weltsys was a 3rd Ponzi scheme attributed to Francis Silva, this time arrange by a Hong Kong shell firm.
By January 2020 issues have been getting determined. At one Forcount/Weltsys promo occasion held in Chicago, an investor
stood up and started complaining about withdrawal points. In response, Hernandez tried to get lodge safety to eject (the investor) from the occasion.
Footage of the confrontation was captured and uploaded to YouTube by an attendee. Forcount traders cheered and clapped as the person was ejected from the venue.
Forcount/Weltsys formally collapsed in early 2021.
As per their December sixth sealed superseding indictment;
- Francisley Da Silva and Juan Tacuri have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and and conspiracy to commit cash laundering
- Antonia Perez Hernandez has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and (making) false statements
If convicted, Da Silva and Tacuri face a most 60 yr jail sentence. Hernandez is dealing with 45 years in jail.
Juan Tacuri was arrested in Florida on December 14th.
As a part of their investigation, US Border Safety intercepted and detained Antonia Hernandez “as she was getting back from Mexico”.
Particular Brokers with … Homeland Safety Investigations carried out an interview of Hernandez remotely from the Southern District of New York.
Throughout the interview, Hernandez falsely denied being a Forcount promoter, recruiting traders, and taking cash from traders, and denied figuring out Juan Tacuri … past seeing them from afar at Forcount occasions.
Hernandez additionally falsely claimed … that she had no involvement with any cryptocurrency-related enterprise since in or about August 2017 and had no understanding of the time period “binary”.
Hernandez stays at giant. I’m assuming if she was nonetheless within the US she’d have been arrested together with Tacuri.
Whether or not Hernandez fled to Mexico or elsewhere stays unclear.
Francis Da Silva was arrested in Brazil on or round November third. Da Silva’s arrest pertains to a bigger $800 million Ponzi empire.
Though Da Silva isn’t named, an October 2022 ICE press-release offers additional data within the lead as much as his arrest.
An investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police, U.S. Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) and a number of legislation enforcement companions led to the disruption of a transnational cryptocurrency fraud ring primarily based in Curitiba, Brazil, Oct. 6.
As a part of Operation Poyais, the Brazilian Federal Police executed 20 search and seizure warrants within the states of Parana, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a number of violations of Brazilian prison statutes.
The violations embody worldwide cash laundering, working a prison enterprise, fraud, and crimes in opposition to the nationwide monetary system.
The warrants are the fruits of a multi-year police investigation right into a transnational cryptocurrency fraud ring led by a 37-year previous Brazilian nationwide and former U.S. resident.
The U.S. investigation revealed that the group allegedly deceived traders in over a dozen nations by falsely claiming that they’d developed totally functioning, cutting-edge cryptocurrency-related monetary merchandise.
In actuality, the group is suspected of promoting fraudulent partnerships and licenses that have been used to dupe victims into investing thousands and thousands into cryptocurrencies minted by the suspects. The cryptocurrencies ultimately held little to no worth.
In January 2022, after the chief of the transnational prison group relocated from the U.S. to Brazil, HSI particular brokers assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, requested the help of the Brazilian Federal Police in coordinating binational investigative efforts.
A subsequent investigation by Brazilian authorities recognized related prison actions being carried out in Brazil, with an estimated 4 billion Brazilian Reais ($800 million) moved by way of the Brazilian banking system alone, separate from illicit proceeds that have been transferred by way of cryptocurrency.
Da Silva is a Brazilian nationwide, which sadly means he received’t be extradited to the US.
At time of publication the Forcount prison case has but to seem on Pacer. I count on it would present up someday over the subsequent 24 hours, after which I’ll have the ability to present additional updates.
Along with prison prices, the SEC has additionally filed a civil fraud case in opposition to Da Silva, Tacuri and two further Forcount promoters.
The SEC has pegged Forcount losses at over $8.4 million.
