The
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is advancing
in the sentencing process for key individuals involved in the notorious
cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as AirBit Club.
On
October 3, the office of the U.S. attorney for New York officially announced
the sentencing of three out of the five surviving defendants implicated in the
AirBit case. The sentenced individuals include Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan,
and Karina Chairez, all of whom had previously pleaded guilty to money
laundering and related charges earlier in 2023.
Scott
Hughes, an attorney accused of laundering approximately $18 million in proceeds
from the AirBit Club fraud, received an 18-month prison sentence. Cecilia
Millan, a senior-level promoter for AirBit Club, was sentenced to five years
behind bars, while Karina Chairez, another senior-level promoter, was sentenced
to one year and one day in prison.
Additionally,
Hughes was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Millan and
Chairez received three years and three months of supervised release,
respectively.
Presentation
as a Cryptocurrency MLM Club
The
AirBit Club scheme was launched in late 2015. It had presented itself as a
“multi-level marketing club” within the cryptocurrency
industry. The defendants used enticing presentations to deceive investors into
believing that AirBit Club guaranteed daily returns through crypto mining and
trading activities.
However,
instead of funding the promoted crypto operations, which had never existed,
approximately $100 million of investors’ funds ended up in the hands of the
scheme’s founders and promoters. Despite early complaints from users about
withdrawal delays and hidden fees in 2016, the AirBit Club continued its
fraudulent activities until 2020.
U.S.
Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the pivotal roles played by Hughes, Millan,
and Chairez in perpetuating the AirBit Club pyramid scheme.
Williams stated: “At the top-tier of promoters, Millan and Chairez for
years aggressively solicited investments from and misled hardworking and
unsophisticated investors to line their own pockets.”
He
added: “Today’s sentences send a message that anyone who facilitates
cryptocurrency investment schemes — not only those at the very top of the
pyramid — will face serious consequences for such crimes.”
These
sentences follow the sentencing of AirBit Club co-founder Pablo Rodriguez. He
received a 12-year prison term in late September 2023. Another co-founder, Dos
Santos has pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering,
and bank fraud conspiracy.
Santos
is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2023. He is the final defendant to
be sentenced out of a total of six individuals associated with the AirBit Club,
with one defendant, Jackie Aguilar, passing away before sentencing in May,
after pleading guilty in February 2023.
The
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is advancing
in the sentencing process for key individuals involved in the notorious
cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as AirBit Club.
On
October 3, the office of the U.S. attorney for New York officially announced
the sentencing of three out of the five surviving defendants implicated in the
AirBit case. The sentenced individuals include Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan,
and Karina Chairez, all of whom had previously pleaded guilty to money
laundering and related charges earlier in 2023.
Scott
Hughes, an attorney accused of laundering approximately $18 million in proceeds
from the AirBit Club fraud, received an 18-month prison sentence. Cecilia
Millan, a senior-level promoter for AirBit Club, was sentenced to five years
behind bars, while Karina Chairez, another senior-level promoter, was sentenced
to one year and one day in prison.
Additionally,
Hughes was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Millan and
Chairez received three years and three months of supervised release,
respectively.
Presentation
as a Cryptocurrency MLM Club
The
AirBit Club scheme was launched in late 2015. It had presented itself as a
“multi-level marketing club” within the cryptocurrency
industry. The defendants used enticing presentations to deceive investors into
believing that AirBit Club guaranteed daily returns through crypto mining and
trading activities.
However,
instead of funding the promoted crypto operations, which had never existed,
approximately $100 million of investors’ funds ended up in the hands of the
scheme’s founders and promoters. Despite early complaints from users about
withdrawal delays and hidden fees in 2016, the AirBit Club continued its
fraudulent activities until 2020.
U.S.
Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the pivotal roles played by Hughes, Millan,
and Chairez in perpetuating the AirBit Club pyramid scheme.
Williams stated: “At the top-tier of promoters, Millan and Chairez for
years aggressively solicited investments from and misled hardworking and
unsophisticated investors to line their own pockets.”
He
added: “Today’s sentences send a message that anyone who facilitates
cryptocurrency investment schemes — not only those at the very top of the
pyramid — will face serious consequences for such crimes.”
These
sentences follow the sentencing of AirBit Club co-founder Pablo Rodriguez. He
received a 12-year prison term in late September 2023. Another co-founder, Dos
Santos has pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering,
and bank fraud conspiracy.
Santos
is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2023. He is the final defendant to
be sentenced out of a total of six individuals associated with the AirBit Club,
with one defendant, Jackie Aguilar, passing away before sentencing in May,
after pleading guilty in February 2023.
