WASHINGTON D.C.
The CEO of Mining Capital Coin (MCC), a purported cryptocurrency mining and investment platform, allegedly orchestrated a $62 million global investment fraud scheme, a federal indictment unsealed last week states.
“Cryptocurrency-based fraud undermines financial markets worldwide as bad actors defraud investors and limits the ability of legitimate entrepreneurs to innovate within this emerging space,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
According to the indictment, Luiz Capuci Jr., 44, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, the CEO and founder of MCC, misled investors about MCC’s cryptocurrency mining and investment program, under which investors could invest in MCC by purchasing “Mining Packages.”
Under this program, Capuci and his co-conspirators touted MCC’s purported international network of cryptocurrency mining machines as being able to generate substantial profits and guaranteed returns by using investors’ money to mine new cryptocurrency.
Capuci also touted MCC’s own cryptocurrency, Capital Coin, as a purported decentralized autonomous organization that was “stabilized by revenue from the biggest cryptocurrency mining operation in the world,” the indictment stated.
But Capuci operated a fraudulent investment scheme and did not use investors’ funds to mine new cryptocurrency, as promised, but instead diverted the funds to cryptocurrency wallets under his control, the indictment states.
U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida, said, “as with any emerging market, those who invest in cryptocurrency must beware of profit-making opportunities that appear too good to be true.”
The indictment further alleges that Capuci touted and fraudulently marketed MCC’s purported “Trading Bots” as an additional investment mechanism for investors to invest in the cryptocurrency market.
Capuci claimed that MCC joined with “top software developers in Asia, Russia, and the U.S.A. to create an improved version of Trading Bot[s] that [were] tested with new technology never seen before.”
Capuci further represented that MCC’s Trading Bots operated in “very high frequency, being able to do thousands of trades per second,” and that each of MCC’s Trading Bots would generate daily returns for investors.
As he did with the Mining Packages, however, Capuci allegedly operated an investment fraud scheme with the Trading Bots and was not, as he promised, using MCC Trading Bots to generate income for investors, but instead was diverting the funds to himself and co-conspirators.
“Virtual currency markets are growing rapidly, and unfortunately so are crypto currency investment scams,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating financial fraud wherever it occurs, including in the virtual currency space.”
Capuci is also alleged to have recruited promoters and affiliates to promote MCC and its various investment programs through a multi-level marketing scheme, commonly known as a pyramid scheme.
To successfully lure investors to invest, Capuci promised MCC’s network of promoters and affiliates a range of gifts, from Apple watches and iPads to luxury vehicles such as a Lamborghini, Porsche, and even Capuci’s personal Ferrari.
Capuci further concealed the location and control of the fraud proceeds obtained from investors by laundering the funds internationally through various foreign-based cryptocurrency exchanges.
Capuci is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
If convicted of all counts, he faces up to 45 years in prison.
The FBI Miami Field Office and HSI’s Miami Field Office are investigating the case.