According to a recent report, two promoters of the massive cryptocurrency scam OneCoin have been found killed in Mexico. One of them joined the infamous Ponzi scheme in 2017 and was particularly active in distributing misleading information and deceiving victims in the LATAM region.
OneCoin Promoters Killed
The report indicates that Mexican authorities found Oscar Brito Ibarra and Ignacio Ibarra (no relation), in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. Their bodies were stuffed into suitcases and dumped in a vacant lot.
The comprehensive examination that followed determined that the cause of death was suffocation. Local police initiated an investigation as it treats the events as homicides.
The report also provides more details on Oscar Brito and his involvement with one of the most extensive and ambitious cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes – OneCoin. After participating in a few suspicious MLM initiatives in late 2017, Brito signed as an OneCoin affiliate in September that year. His area of expertise became the scheme’s failed e-commerce platform – DealShaker.
He doubled-down on his engagement by partnering with a small group of Chilean OneCoin affiliates. Together, they traveled across Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia to promote the scam and increase the number of investors and followers.
CLA Involvement
While the scam’s essence was deteriorating and people became more aware of its core problems in 2019, Brito joined a company that accepts cryptocurrencies as payments for cars called the Latin American Automotive Marketing Company (CLA).
In early 2020, he brought Ignacio Ibarra to the scene, and the two traveled numerous times across Latin America to continue promoting the scheme. The duo used marketing tricks such as advertising to potential victims that they could purchase vehicles at lower costs if they utilize OneCoin’s system.
At that point, however, reports began emerging that CLA is a fraudulent project, and the duo halted traveling after the COVID-19 prompted lockdowns in Latin America.
Fast-forward to late June, Brito and Ibarra went to Mazatlan, Sinaloa, as it seemed that CLA resumed its activities and intended to attract further clients. A few days later, the bodies of the two surfaced. Citing a recent US DEA paper, the report suggests that the deaths could be attributed to organized crime:
“According to the study, some Mexican cartels, such as Los Zetas, Jalisco Nueva Generacion, and Sinaloa, have been laundering money with virtual currencies for some time. There is evidence of the use of cryptocurrencies by Mexican transnational criminal organizations as a means to transfer their international wealth.”
While lacking precise details, both Brito and Ibarra had managed to dupe numerous victims into investing directly in OneCoin and CLA.
$72K Fine For OneCoin Promotion
As CryptoPotato reported, another OneCoin promoter was recently found and fined. Although his faith was considerably more favorable than the duo from above, Fok Fook Seng had to pay approximately $72,000 for advertising the well-known Ponzi scheme between January 2016 and June 2017.
He used large-scale events, social media platforms, and locally registered companies to promote OneCoin and ultimately dupe about 1,180 investors into allocating funds through his rigorous promotions.
The OneCoin scam, launched in Bulgaria in 2014, managed to steal nearly $4 billion from investors worldwide. Despite being classified as fraudulent in numerous countries, it didn’t entirely disband until late 2019. However, the founder Ruja Ignatov managed to disappear after leaving the company in 2017, and her location is still unknown to this day.
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