Two men charged in $650 million global fraud scheme involving foreign exchange trading and crypto

Prosecutors charged two men for their roles in operating an international scheme that led to $650 million being stolen and "vanishing" the investors' funds into digital assets.

Michael Shannon Sims, 48, of Georgia and Florida, and Juan Carlos Reynoso, 57, of New Jersey and Florida, were charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Sims was a founder and promoter of OmegaPro, while Reynoso led the company’s operations in Latin America and the United States.

Both face up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.

The pair promised outsized returns and instead misappropriated millions of dollars, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico.

“We remain committed to dismantling international financial schemes that target U.S. victims — including here in Puerto Rico — and to recovering illicit proceeds through criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture," said Muldrow.

Prosecutors say Reynoso and Sims operated OmegaPro as a multi-level marketing scheme, where customers could buy "investment packages" that would generate 300% returns over 16 months through foreign exchange trading. They were instructed to purchase those packages using cryptocurrency, prosecutors said.

The pair, along with co-conspirators, allegedly looked to display their wealth in part through posting about expensive cars, vacations, and clothes, and also hosted "lavish" events globally, including displaying the company's logo on the Burj Khalifa, Dubai's iconic skyscraper and the tallest building in the world.

"The objective of these promotional events allegedly was to convince existing and prospective investors that OmegaPro was a legitimate enterprise that offered a path to wealth and a luxurious lifestyle," prosecutors said.

Later, OmegaPro said that it had suffered a hack, but Reynoso and others reassured investors that their investments were secure and would be transferred to another platform. However, investors could not withdraw money from either, and funds were sent to a crypto wallet address controlled by the company's executives, prosecutors alleged.

"The Criminal Division is committed to prosecuting these bad actors and pursuing justice for their many victims," said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in the statement. "Thanks to the dedicated work of our multiagency and international law enforcement partners, we are leading efforts to combat these complex and insidious digital asset investor scams.”