The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has extradited a Brazilian national to the United States of America from Switzerland over a $290 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme between 2016 and 2021.
According to the DOJ, the citizen of Brazil appeared at the United States District Court in Seattle, where he is facing a 13-count indictment for wire fraud and conspiracy related to his Bitcoin investment scheme. Authorities claim the defendant, 48-year-old Dover Braga, lived in Florida between 2016 and 2021 when he carried out most of his fraudulent activities.
In the DOJ indictment, Braga was accused of running a Bitcoin investment scheme that acted as a front for a Ponzi scheme alongside an illegal multilevel marketing scheme. The grand jury returned the indictment in October 2022, and it was unsealed after authorities apprehended the suspect in Switzerland.
Braga pleaded ‘Not Guilty’ to the charges and the trial, which will be presided by US District Judge Tana Lin, was scheduled for April 28, 2025.
DOJ extradites suspect to the US over $290M scam
According to the DOJ indictment, Braga and his accomplices conspired to create a crypto trading and investment platform called Trade Coin Club (TCC), with a physical office in Belize. In 2016, Braga, alongside his co-conspirators, started promoting TCC, promising investors that they could make money from investing in Bitcoin on the platform.
Braga told investors that the platform had sophisticated software that would enable investors to make profits from the fluctuating price of the leading digital assets. He also promised investors certain rewards and percentages for inviting new users to the platform. In reality, the platform had no sophisticated software and the platform did not exist. Investors who were early to the platform were paid off by funds from new investors, taking the shape of a Ponzi scheme.
The DOJ indictment also mentioned that Braga traveled globally to promote the fake platform, going to Thailand in March 2017, before going to Nigeria and Macau in May 2017. The platform was promoted on social media and at events, where Braga claimed at some of the events that the platform had about 126,000 members across 231 countries.
The DOJ mentioned that through his fake promises, he induced thousands of people to entrust him with about 82,000 BTC worth $290 million at the time, with most of them depositing it on TCC. He also layered his criminal activity, creating a website for users to track their investments. However, it turned out that the website was fictitious and no trading activity was happening.
According to the authorities, Braga started to misappropriate investor funds, with records showing that he took out at least $50 million in BTC between December 2016 and July 2019. However, trouble started when investors started to request their funds in 2017 and early 2018. In January 2018, TCC informed investors that it was ceasing operations in the United States, noting that it would cancel their accounts.
Investigations uncover Braga’s tax crimes
According to authorities, Braga profited greatly from his crimes while failing to report his earnings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Authorities said that in 2017, he received Bitcoin worth $30.5 million, but only reported $152,298 income for the year. The following year, he received $13 million in BTC but told the IRS he made $73,473 for the year. In 2019, he received $10 million worth of Bitcoin but reported $72,473.
According to the Special Agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office, the crime that Braga was charged with is now new, he just used a new technology as a cover to defraud investors. “While the victims in this case waited and wondered about the fate of their investments, he siphoned off millions of dollars for his personal use. This case demonstrates the determination of the FBI and our partners in IRS Criminal Investigation to hold fraudsters accountable, no matter where in the world they may be,” he said.
The US Attorney Teal Luthy Miller also commended the FBI, IRS, and other federal partners for helping them solve the case. “The victim investors have waited years to see justice. I commend our federal partners at the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation for their diligent work on this case,” the US Attorney said.
Braga is presently facing 12 counts of wire fraud, representing 12 wire transfers made by 12 investors to TCC to deposit in their accounts on the platform. He is also facing a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If found guilty, Braga could spend up to 20 years in prison for each of the charges.
