No fewer than $15 million worth of cryptocurrencies was defrauded by four nationals from Argentine, Spanish, and Italian through crypto Ponzi scheme.
Following complaints filed by many victims, the Spanish police have arrested and detained the four suspects for allegedly running a $15 million crypto Ponzi scheme.
Quoting the Policia Nacional, Bitcoin.com reports that the four accused are Argentine, Spanish, and Italian nationals aged between 23 and 36.
It was gathered that the suspects persuaded their victims to transfer their bitcoin (BTC) to them by promising high returns.
The authorities say that around 380 BTC were scammed by the alleged fraudsters, which amount to approximately $15 million at the current BTC price. The victims began to suspect that the four were running a pyramid scheme when they did not deliver on their promises.
The scammers did not have a website or a massive platform to attract people, relying mostly on verbal promotion. The fraudsters told their victims that their bitcoin was going to a company, which in fact did not exist. However, the police did not reveal the name of the fake company.
READ ALSO: If You Have Bitcoin In Wallet, Read This About Scams
The police report reveals that one of the fraudsters hid in Cuenca due to pressure from several victims who threatened to report him to the police. The report states:
Once detained, he was placed at the disposal of the investigating court acting as a guard in that city. The rest of the detainees were released after being heard in a statement at the Alicante police station.
Without disclosing the number of victims, the authorities confirmed that the investigation is ongoing because there could be “many other victims.”
Bitcoin.com