Six executives of cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme AirBit Club have pleaded guilty to a series of internationally coordinated fraud and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced.
Over a five-year period, the operators of AirBit Club are said to have made around $100 million. This includes co-founders Pablo Renato Rodriguez and Gutemberg Dos Santos, their attorney Scott Hughes, and AirBit promoters Cecilia Millan, Karina Chairez and Jackie Aguilar, who have pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, bank fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy charges.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that the six executives took advantage of the ongoing hype surrounding the asset class by falsely promising to invest their money in cryptocurrency trading and mining to defraud the world of millions of dollars. Millions of dollars for unsuspecting victims. According to law enforcement findings, Rodriguez, Dos Santos, Hughes, Chairez, and Millan asked victims to use a third-party cryptocurrency broker to purchase memberships with cash. Illegal proceeds from the AirBit Club Scheme were then laundered through multiple domestic and foreign bank accounts, including an attorney trust account managed by Hughes.
Using this account, the attorney uses the funds for the personal expenses of the co-founders and promoters as well as his own expenses. These funds are also used for promotions and sponsorships aimed at furthering the AirBit Club program. All defendants, first charged in August 2020, traveled the United States, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe, hosting "lavish" fairs and small community presentations aimed at convincing victims to purchase AirBit Club memberships.
Prosecutors further said victims were able to view accumulated "profits" on their online portals. However, no actual bitcoin mining or trading on behalf of the victims occurred. Instead, operators of scam projects "get rich" by spending money on cars, jewelry and mansions, and funding more lavish fairs to gather more victims.
