A new fraud case is rocking the crypto community. The U.S. Department of Justice is implicating the CEO and founder of Mining Capital Coin, Luiz Capuci Jr. Indicted last Friday in this case, the indictment presents numerous charges against him. In total, the fraud scheme set up would have allowed him to embezzle a sum of more than 62 million dollars, the Department specifying that he is charged primarily with “allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent investment scheme of 62 million dollars“.
Founded not long ago, Mining Capital Coin (or MCC), is a crypto currency mining and investment platform. The platform offered several types of products for sale, including “Mining Packages” and “Trading Bots” singled out in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment.
Fraud charges against the CEO and founder of Mining Capital Coin (MCC)
The indictment issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) states that Luiz Capuci Jr., founder and CEO of Mining Capital Coin, set up a pyramid scheme to embezzle funds from his clients.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Mining Capital Coin offered to purchase Mining Packages, a global network of crypto mining machines, which guaranteed its buyer a significant return on investment when it was (apparently) not. Instead, Luiz Capuci Jr. would have diverted the funds of investors to his own wallets.
The second product, or rather the “Trading Bots”, were financed by many investors, but once again the funds were diverted to his own benefit. These Trading Bots were supposedly “capable of performing thousands of transactions per second” and “generating significant profits” for investors.
The funds were diverted to Luiz Capuci Jr, founder of Mining Capital Coin, but not only according to the US Department of Justice. Indeed, the indictment alleges that other “co-conspirators” benefited, without naming them.
In addition to all of these charges, another count explains that MCC’s founder promised gifts to a network of promoters in return for recruiting new investors. Among the rewards were promised Apple products such as watches, iPads, but also a Ferrari. This last point is amusing: it was actually the personal Ferrari of Mr. Luiz Capuci Jr!
In addition, he is suspected of wire fraud, securities fraud, international money laundering.
What punishment for the founder of Mining Capital Coin?
In the United States, these facts are – if convicted after trial – punishable by up to 45 years in prison. Obviously, 45 years is the maximum sentence that can be imposed.
“Crypto-currency-based fraud undermines financial markets around the world, as bad actors defraud investors and limit the ability of legitimate entrepreneurs to innovate in this emerging space.”
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A.Polite, Jr. of the Criminal Division (DOJ)
In addition, it should be noted that Luiz Capuci Jr. is also being prosecuted (together with his co-founder Emerson Souza Pires) by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) since April 2022 for “selling mining packages to more than 65,000 investors with the promise of daily returns of 1%, payable weekly“, when this was – once again – not the case.
For the time being, the parties concerned are presumed innocent, so it is advisable to wait for the judgment in order to sort out the truth from the falsehood in this case. This news demonstrates once again that the authorities, especially in the United States, are carrying out numerous controls and are gradually punishing more and more people in the crypto/blockchain sector.
