The U.S. has sued the founder of the OmegaPro encryption Ponzi Scheme, involving $650 million! The defendant faces up to 40 years in prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice released a major indictment on Monday, accusing two men of operating a massive Crypto Assets investment eyeyash that resulted in thousands of investors suffering huge losses, with over $650 million involved. This is one of the largest Crypto Assets fraud criminal charges in recent years.

Carefully Woven "Get Rich Quick" Trap: False Platforms and Promises of Extremely High Returns

According to the indictment, co-founders Michael Shannon Sims and Juan Carlos Reynoso launched a fraudulent Crypto Assets investment platform called OmegaPro in 2019. The platform promised investors an astonishing return of up to 300% in just 16 months, claiming to have an "elite team of traders" generating profits through Forex trading. This unrealistic high return promise is characteristic of a typical Ponzi scheme and encryption eyeglasses.

Funds Flow Analysis: Crypto Assets Collection and Internal Transfers

Investors are required to use Crypto Assets (such as Bitcoin, USDT, etc.) for investment. However, the Crypto Assets deposited by the victims were not used for real trading but were transferred to a crypto wallet controlled by eyewash insiders. Subsequently, these funds were quietly paid to top project promoters as commissions, forming a typical Ponzi scheme and encryption laundering path.

Luxurious Packaging and Global Hype: Eyewash to Gain Trust

In order to make the OmegaPro project appear legitimate and credible and attract more Crypto Assets investors to join, Simms and Reynolds held luxurious and high-profile offline promotional events in Latin America, Europe, and the United States. They utilized social media to promote by showcasing luxury cars, high-end luxury goods and other displays of wealth, and even spent a fortune projecting the company's logo onto the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, creating a false impression of the project's strong capabilities and engaging in encryption influencer marketing.

Market Crash and Continued Eyewash: Claiming Hacker Attack, Transferring to New Platform

When the eyewash becomes unsustainable and starts to collapse, the founder of OmegaPro actually falsely claims that the platform suffered a "cyber hacker attack". Victims are told that their funds will be transferred to a new platform called Broker Group, as part of the "restructuring plan". However, this is merely a delaying tactic and secondary harvesting. In reality, users have had their withdrawal functions cut off on all platforms, completely losing control and access to their crypto assets, facing a situation where crypto assets cannot be withdrawn.

Legal Crackdown: Maximum 40 Years Imprisonment, Global Crackdown on Crypto Fraud

Currently, the two defendants face serious charges of telecom fraud and money laundering. If convicted, each could face up to 40 years in federal prison. This case comes at a time when global financial regulators (such as SEC, FCA, etc.) are intensifying efforts to combat digital asset fraud and Crypto Assets scams. Just last week, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sentenced two main offenders of another similar Crypto Assets investment eyewash to a total of 12 years in prison, with the scam causing victims to lose approximately £1.5 million.

The head of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice commented on the case, emphasizing that authorities will continue to pursue those using Crypto Assets to defraud investors: "We are leading efforts to combat these complex and highly damaging digital asset investor eyewashes," he stated, adding that prosecutors are firmly committed to "seeking justice for the numerous victims and recovering the stolen encryption assets."