Juan Tacuri has been sentenced to a maximum of 240 months for his involvement in the Forcount Ponzi scheme.
Tacuri served as a senior promoter in the Forcount Ponzi scheme, which deceived thousands of investors, primarily targeting Spanish-speaking communities. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, presided over by Judge Analisa Torres, issued the maximum sentence for his role in this cryptocurrency-based fraud.
At 46 years old, Tacuri has been ordered to pay over $3.6 million in restitution and hand over a home in Florida that was acquired with ill-gotten gains.
Insights into Crypto Fraud
Forcount, which later rebranded as Weltsys, falsely represented itself as a company engaged in cryptocurrency mining and trading. Tacuri and fellow promoters promised investors guaranteed daily returns and the prospect of doubling their investments within six months.
In reality, the company participated in no legitimate cryptocurrency operations, functioning instead as a traditional Ponzi scheme that used new investments to pay earlier investors while its promoters profited.
The victims of this scheme were mainly working-class, Spanish-speaking individuals. Tacuri traveled extensively across the United States, organizing events designed to lure in more investors. These gatherings ranged from small community meetings to larger exhibits, where Tacuri touted his financial successes and promoted Forcount’s offerings.
Investors were convinced they were on the path to financial independence through these investments.
Despite a growing number of complaints as far back as 2018 concerning investors’ inability to withdraw their funds, Tacuri and his associates persisted in promoting the fraudulent scheme.
Introduction of ‘Mindexcoin’
In an attempt to remedy liquidity challenges, the scheme introduced proprietary tokens named “Mindexcoin,” asserting that these tokens would retain value. Ultimately, these tokens became worthless, culminating in even greater losses for the investors.
Tacuri’s sentencing, which includes an additional year of supervised release, came after powerful impact statements from over 20 victims. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams highlighted that Tacuri’s actions epitomized fraud disguised as innovative cryptocurrency investment. “Fraud does not pay,” Williams noted.
