Two men have been indicted for his or her alleged roles in working and selling OmegaPro, a world funding scheme that defrauded traders of greater than $650 million, in accordance with the U.S. Justice Division.
Michael Shannon Sims, 48, of Georgia and Florida, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, 57, of New Jersey and Florida, are charged in the District of Puerto Rico with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit cash laundering. Each men allegedly performed central roles in the scheme’s operation throughout Latin America and components of the US, together with Puerto Rico.
Sims is accused of founding and selling OmegaPro beginning in January 2019, with Reynoso becoming a member of a number of months later.
In keeping with court docket paperwork, the corporate was marketed as a multi-level funding platform providing as much as 300% returns in 16 months via overseas trade buying and selling. Traders have been inspired to purchase “packages” utilizing digital forex.
Prosecutors say the defendants misled traders by falsely vouching for OmegaPro’s efficiency, claiming the corporate was licensed or past the attain of regulatory oversight, and internet hosting high-profile promotional occasions to painting the corporate as a authentic path to wealth.
These occasions included projecting the OmegaPro emblem onto the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Sims and Reynoso additionally allegedly used social media to advertise their lavish life as proof of the scheme’s success. The indictment states that funds have been funneled via crypto wallets managed by OmegaPro insiders earlier than being dispersed to cover their origins. Each men allegedly profited thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
In early 2023, after OmegaPro claimed it had been hacked, victims have been informed their funds have been secure and being moved to a brand new platform, Dealer Group. In keeping with the Justice Division, traders have been finally unable to get well their cash from both platform.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS Legal Investigation, and Homeland Safety Investigations, with assist from worldwide companions throughout a number of continents. If convicted, Sims and Reynoso every resist 40 years in jail.
“As alleged, the defendants preyed upon weak people in the U.S. and overseas, defrauding them of over $650 million by making false guarantees of considerable returns and that their cash was secure,” mentioned Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Division’s Legal Division.
The FBI’s San Juan Area Workplace is searching for to establish victims who might have been defrauded via OmegaPro between 2018 and 2023. People who suffered monetary losses or have data related to the case are inspired to finish a short online form. The FBI additionally urges anybody who is aware of a attainable sufferer to share the shape to allow them to come ahead straight.
