$400,000,000 Seized From Crypto Ponzi Scheme Now Available To Compensate Victims, Says DOJ

The US Justice Department says funds are now available to compensate victims of the AirBit Club.

Operators marketed the Ponzi scheme as a cryptocurrency mining and trading company with guaranteed profits.

AirBit co-founders Pablo Renato Rodriguez and Gutemberg Dos Santos, promoters Cecilia Millan and Karina Chairez and attorney Scott Hughes were sentenced in 2023 for their role in the investment scam.

They were also ordered to forfeit all the fraudulent proceeds, which include real estate, US currency and crypto assets.

In a statement, the Justice Department says the government now has substantial amount to distribute to the defrauded investors. 

“To date, the United States has forfeited over $400 million in assets which are now available to compensate eligible victims for their compensable losses. Any victims who have previously provided their information to the FBI or U.S. Attorney’s Office will be contacted by the remission administrator, RCB Fund Services, LLC, (RCB) to file a petition.”

The DOJ’s announcement comes following the launch of the remission compensation process to provide recovery to AirBit victims last week.

Says Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division,

“The defendants took advantage of virtual currency’s popularity to promote the scheme and recruit additional victims. The criminal convictions and substantial asset recoveries obtained by prosecutors and law enforcement partners have enabled the Department to successfully launch this significant victim compensation effort.”

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