Two individuals have pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for their roles in the Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, which defrauded $8.4 million from investors.
Antonia Perez Hernandez and Nestor Nunez entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the Forcount scheme during a hearing on July 22 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Between 2017 and 2021, Hernandez, Nunez, and others are purportedly responsible for stealing $8.4 million from primarily Spanish-speaking investors by promoting crypto trading and mining on Forcount, with the promise of substantial returns.
Juan Tacuri is one of the five defendants in the 2022 case who have also entered guilty pleas. He was one of the promoters who traveled across the United States to host presentations in which he persuaded investors to enroll in Forcount.
He consented to forfeit approximately $4 million and properties acquired with victims’ funds as part of a settlement with prosecutors announced in June.
Tacuri is anticipated to be sentenced by Judge Analisa Torres on September 24. Nunez and Hernandez had no sentencing hearings scheduled at the time of publication.
The remaining defendants, Francisley Da Silva and Ramon Perez were awaiting trial and did not appear to have entered a guilty plea at publication.
The most recent development in a string of criminal cases initiated by US authorities against individuals associated with crypto firms was the guilty plea of Forcount.
After being convicted of fraud in 2023 for the misappropriation of customer funds at the crypto exchange, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence.
Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, is expected to remain in prison until October as a result of a guilty plea and a four-month sentence for violating US money laundering statutes.
