The CEO of Mining Capital Coin has been charged with running a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that defrauded investors of more than $60 million.
Luiz Capuci Jr., the CEO and co-founder of Mining Capital Coin (MCC), has been charged by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) with operating a $62 million fraud operation.
The CEO of Mining Capital Coin allegedly deceived investors.
The DOJ claims that Capuci and other unnamed team members deceived investors into believing that MCC’s mining and investment program would generate enormous profits.
Capuci asserted that if investors bought the so-called “Mining Packages,” the company could use its vast global network of industrial-sized mining equipment to earn massive profits and assured returns.
The money invested would supposedly be used to mine Capital Coin, the native cryptocurrency of MCC. Capuci asserted that the “largest cryptocurrency mining operation in the world” was supporting the token. But instead of keeping his word, he resorted to funding his own personal cryptocurrency wallets with investor money instead.
However, as claimed in the indictment, Capuci ran a fraudulent investment scheme and moved customers’ money to cryptocurrency wallets under his control rather than using it as promised to mine new digital currencies.
Managing an MLM Program
In addition to selling phony mining packages and tokens, Capuci is accused of pitching questionable MCC trading bots to unwary investors. He asserted that these bots carried out thousands of trades each day and generated significant returns using “new technology never seen before.”
The Justice Department further claimed that Capuci used affiliates and promoters to entice additional investors while running MCC as a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme. They were assured of a variety of benefits, including “Apple watches, iPads, and even exotic cars like a Lamborghini, Porsche, and even Capuci’s personal Ferrari.”
45 years maximum in prison
The current accusations against Capuci include conspiring to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and international money laundering. Capuci could receive a maximum sentence of 45 years in jail if he is found guilty on all of these accusations.
Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Miami, commented on the most recent charge, saying, “This case should serve as a caution to any anyone who attempt to criminally capitalize on the apparent ambiguity of the burgeoning crypto market to take advantage of unsuspecting investors.”
The US Justice Department has previously indicted a founding member of a shady cryptocurrency scheme. The DOJ charged the proprietor of Block Bits Fund last month for deceiving investors into giving money to a phony arbitrage autotrader.
