According to a law of lawyers, the scam would have caused losses greater than 11 million euros.
The seized assets include vessels, real estate and parking spaces.
Judge José Luis Calama, head of the Central Court of Instruction number 4 in Spain, has ordered the seizure of multiple goods linked to Álvaro Romillo (aka: cryptospain), leader of an alleged pyramid scam related to the Madeira Invest cryptocurrency platform.
The judicial measure also reaches direct relatives of Romillolike his wife Mihaela Monteanu and her children, with the aim of guaranteeing the compensation of possible economic damage.
The seizure of assets responds to the prosecutor’s request made a year of blocking assets for at least 250 million euros. They include three vessels valued at about 9 million euros, along with several garage properties and squares in Madrid, Granada, Illescas, El Espinar and Aller.
Besides, The sale or transfer of these goods has been prohibited to guarantee their preservation.
The judicial process began after complaints from various associations of consumers and cryptocurrencies, which alerted about possible mass fraud.
According to the Aranguez law firm, The scam would have caused losses greater than 11 million euros, although it is estimated that the total amount could exceed 300 million. About 30,000 investors would have been affected by this scheme, according to the information of the complaint.
The Civil Guard presented a report in which it details how the organization would have executed the scam through the Ponzi scheme, a method that consists of paying the first investors with the funds provided by new customers, without making real investments that generate benefits.
In addition, among the relevant facts of the cause, it stands out The delivery of 100,000 euros by Madeira invest to Deputy Alvise Pérezan operation that has raised attention in the investigation and is under judicial analysis to determine possible links and responsibilities.
In parallel, on June 2, the judge requested the collaboration of the Tax Agency to investigate whether the organization incurred fiscal crimes, including possible fraud or tax evasions linked to its operations.
It should be noted that Álvaro Romillo called “cryptospain” on social networks and was promoted as a tax evasion expert. Thus, he would have attracted thousands of followers to his private investment club promising high yields, which are now under judicial investigation.
To avoid falling into scams by investing in cryptocurrencies, It is essential to distrust the promises of rapid or guaranteed earningsespecially if they come from figures that are promoted as “experts” in social networks. It should always be verified that the platform has good reputation and verifiable opinions.
It is advisable to send money to private clubs or schemes that do not offer clear information about how profits are generated. To know more about how to protect you, cryptootics has prepared a guide of tips.
In recent months, several investigations in Spain have revealed criminal networks that use cryptocurrencies as a hook to cheat thousands of people.
In one of the most recent operations, six people were arrested accused of deceiving more than 200 victims with false investment promises, causing losses that would exceed 19 million euros.
The scam was based on deceptive ads spread on social networks, the use of artificial intelligence to create false videos with public figures, and multiple false identities used to gain the trust of the victims.
