These Brazilian Soccer Gamers Turned Victims of a Crypto Rip-off (Report)

The skilled Brazilian soccer gamers – Gustavo Scarpa, Mayke Rocha de Oliveira, and Willian Bigode – have reportedly misplaced over $5 million as a result of investing in an alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency agency known as Xland.

The corporate mentioned it didn’t run a pyramid scheme and promised to reimburse the victims.

Athletes Have Fallen Victims

Scarpa – Brazilian soccer participant who performs for Premier League membership Nottingham Forest – and Mayke Rocha de Oliveira (higher often called Mayke) – who competes at Brazil’s Serie A group Palmeiras – had been supposedly urged to affix Xland as buyers by Willian Bigode.

The platform promised returns of as much as 5% a month, however it looks like it drained the gamers’ funding. Scarpa distributed 6.3 million reais (round $1.2 million), whereas Mayke parted with 4 million reais (roughly $757,000). Each gamers filed complaints with the police a number of months in the past. Scarpa just lately commented:

“I’ve at all times seen silly folks fall sufferer to pyramid schemes and scams. Discovering myself in a state of affairs like that’s horrible.”

Bigode – a former teammate of the victims at Brazil’s reigning champion Palmeiras – denied persuading the gamers to put money into Xland. He mentioned he’s additionally a sufferer of the supposed rip-off, dropping 17.5 million reais (over $3.3 million):

“I’m not a scammer, I didn’t take anybody’s cash. I’m a sufferer, too, as a result of I haven’t gotten my very own a refund to at the present time.”

Vinicius Salva – lead investigator on the case – acknowledged there was “sturdy proof” that Xland operated as a pyramid scheme. However, the agency rejected these claims, saying the investor losses resulted from the demise of the crypto alternate FTX in November 2022. Xland additionally vowed to revive the soccer gamers’ funds.

A few of Brazil’s Greatest Crypto Scams

The most important nation by landmass in South America has grow to be a hotbed for cryptocurrency schemes over the previous few years.

The native authorities detained Claudio Oliveira, a.okay.a. “The Bitcoin King,” in 2021 on suspicion of swiping 7,000 BTC from purchasers of his Bitcoin Banco Group. The investigators claimed that he transferred the stolen belongings to his private pockets. Upon his arrest, the police confiscated exhausting wallets belonging to Oliveira, alongside luxurious vehicles and an enormous amount of money.

Brazil’s regulation enforcement companies carried out an analogous operation final yr, halting the operations of a legal group led by the businessman Francisco Valdevino da Silva, higher often called the “Bitcoin Sheikh.” Per the accusations, the gang’s members lured folks to affix their crypto platform, promising them as much as 20% returns on their funding.

The investigation, named “Operation Poyais,” estimated that the wrongdoers stole a substantial quantity of funds from victims all through the years and laundered $766 million price of digital currencies.

Featured Picture Courtesy of Nottingham Submit