A Brazilian court has sentenced three leaders behind the collapsed crypto scheme Braiscompany to a total 171 years in prison and completed one of the country’s biggest cases for crypto fraud to date.
The federal judge Vinicius Costa Vidor found Joel Ferreira de Souza, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, guilty of operating an unlicensed financial institution and money laundering through shell businesses and unregulated crypture tours, according to local media.
De Souza received the steepest verdict: 128 years behind pillars. Two others – Sgesana Rayane Silva and Victor Veronez – received 27 and 15 years respectively for their roles in managing cash and acting as intermediaries in the scheme.
The order comes after Brazil’s federal prosecutor (MPF) accused five people of orchestrating a pyramid structure raised R $ 1.11 billion ($ 190 million) from approx. 20,000 investors.
Braiscompany promised large returns through crypto trading, but allegedly ran a parallel financial system using informal transfers and high obligation operations.
The court also ordered the seizure of $ 36 million, although it is unclear how much victims will recover. According to Artêmio Picanço, a lawyer representing multiple victims, the affected concerned must submit civilian claims soon before the funds are taken up by the state.
Two defendants were acquitted of lack of evidence. The rest, the judge gave, “traded to hide the illegal origin” of the money and run operations that mimicked legitimate investment practices but served to enrich insiders.
