17 people face charges from the SEC in connection with a $300 million Ponzi scheme that allegedly targeted Latinos in Texas
Houston, TX: The SEC has filed a complaint in federal court in Houston, Texas, accusing 17 individuals of participating in a $300 million Ponzi scheme that preyed on over 40,000 investors, the majority of them were Latino. The fraud allegedly targeted more than 40,000 people.
The two claimed key players involved, Mauricio Chavez and Giorgio Benvenuto, were charged in September 2022 and the company suspected of carrying out the scheme, CryptoFX, was halted. The SEC’s emergency action prompted the filing of the lawsuit.
In an effort to find more people complicit in the purported fraud, the SEC has maintained its investigation since 2022.
A statement was released by Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, alleging that CryptoFX was a $300 million Ponzi scheme. The scheme allegedly promised Latino investors life-altering wealth and financial freedom through ‘risk free’ and ‘guaranteed’ crypto and foreign exchange investments.
Thousands upon thousands of victims spanning ten states and two foreign countries was the only thing CryptoFX promised, according to Grewal.
In the Southern District of Texas, a complaint was lodged against seventeen individuals who were said to have served as “leaders” of the CryptoFX network. Their purported promises of 15–100% returns on investing helped them amass $300 million from mostly Latino investors.
The defendants allegedly misled investors into believing they would use the money for trading when in fact they did not. Instead, the money was utilized to settle alleged returns owed to other investors, pay commissions and bonuses to the defendants, and “fund their own lifestyles,” as stated in the SEC’s complaint.
The lawsuit states that two defendants, Gabriel and Dulce Ochoa, persisted in attempting to solicit investments notwithstanding the court’s order for the company to cease the purported CryptoFX fraud. Additionally, Gabriel Ochoa is said to have told two investors to withdraw their SEC recovery cases.
Roberto Zavala, Ismael Zarco Sanchez, Maria Saravia, Gloria Castaneda, Gabriel and Dulce Ochoa, and Maria Saravia were all indicted by the SEC for violations of federal securities laws pertaining to anti-fraud, securities registration, and broker registration. Additional charges against Gabriel Ochoa include a violation of laws meant to safeguard whistleblowers.
Claudio Velazquez, Orlin Wilifredo Turcios Castro, Juan Puac, Luis Serrano, Julio Taffinder, and Gabriel Arguelles were all named in the complaint as having violated the provisions pertaining to the registration of brokers and securities.
Every defendant is being pursued by the SEC for civil penalties, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and permanent injunctions.
The SEC claims that Serrano and Taffinder, two of the defendants, have already consented to final judgments pending court approval, but they have neither admitted nor denied the actual allegations. Over $68,000 was the total amount they were willing to spend.
