Palm Beach County Man Enters Guilty Plea for $8 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

Juan Tacuri, of Greenacres, entered a plea of guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims across the globe out of approximately $8.4 million. As part of his guilty plea, Tacuri agreed to forfeit nearly $4 million in victim investor money and certain real estate he had purchased with victim funds.

Tacuri and Forcount, later known as Weltsys, was a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company. Promoters, including Tacuri, targeted hundreds of retail investors, primarily from Spanish-speaking communities throughout the United States and other countries. Tacuri and other defendants allegedly falsely promised that the company’s cryptocurrency trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on victims’ investments and the doubling of those investments within six months. However, the investigation revealed that the company was not engaging in cryptocurrency trading or mining, and the defendants used victims’ money to pay other victims to further promote the schemes. Victims’ funds were also withdrawn as cash and used for personal expenditures such as luxury goods and real estate. 

This enforcement action is the result of a joint investigation with the OFR, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO), the Office of International Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York City Police Department, and the New York City Sheriff’s Office (Department of Finance). The DFS Division of Investigative and Forensic Services secured Tacuri’s arrest.

A sentencing date of September 24, 2024, has been set.

Read the press release.