- He hid victims’ money in a laundering scheme using Bitcoin, attorney trust account
- Founders guaranteed that investors would earn passive daily returns
Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Pablo Renato Rodriguez, who cofounded AirBit Club, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for organizing the global pyramid scheme, the US Department of Justice wrote on its website.
Rodriguez and Gutemberg Dos Santos deceived individuals into investing in AirBit Club, claiming it was a cryptocurrency trading and mining company, and implemented a well-crafted money laundering scheme to hide their illegal profits.
Government confiscated assets worth $100M
The defendants were ordered to forfeit the profit, which includes assets consisting of USD, Bitcoin, and real estate currently valued at around $100 million. The sentenced was pronounced by US District Judge George B. Daniels.
US Attorney Williams clarified:
Dos Santos and Rodriguez founded AirBit Club back in 2015. They promised their victims they would profit off cash investments in club “memberships.” The founders and promoters marketed it as a multilevel marketing crypto club. They deceptively guaranteed that investors would earn passive daily returns on any memberships purchased.
A global operation
The founders and promoters traveled throughout North and South America, Asia, and Eastern Europe, and organized lavish expos and small community presentations to get people to buy AirBit Club memberships.
To further their scheme, they induced victims to buy memberships in cash, including in the Southern District of New York. According to a victim’s statement, they got access to an online portal to see the expected returns on memberships. The information displayed was false, as no Bitcoin trading or mining on behalf of the customers ever occurred.
The conspirators spent victims’ money on luxury properties, cars, and jewelry, and financed more extravagant expos to find more victims.
Early signs and coverups
Back in 2016, people who attempted to withdraw money were unable to do so. They were met with delays, excuses, and hidden fees amounting to more than half of the requested withdrawal. In some cases, they couldn’t make one at all.
Four years later, a victim received a message that the platform had closed his account due to “the economic and financial crisis caused by COVID-19.” The excuse was false.
The defendants tried to hide the scheme and the cash flow by asking victims to buy memberships in cash, using third-party crypto brokers, and laundering the funds through several foreign and domestic bank accounts, including an attorney trust account.
