Key Points
- A Brazilian citizen has been extradited from Switzerland to the US to face charges related to a $290 million Bitcoin investment fraud.
- Douver T. Braga, who operated the Trade Coin Club (TCC) scheme, pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment involving wire fraud and conspiracy.
Douver T. Braga, a Brazilian national, recently faced a U.S. District Court in Seattle after being extradited from Switzerland. He has been charged with a Bitcoin investment fraud amounting to $290 million.
The US Department of Justice issued a press release detailing that Braga pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment. The charges are related to wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with the Trade Coin Club (TCC) scheme.
Details of the TCC Scheme
Braga, aged 48, ran TCC from 2016 to 2021, mainly while living in Florida. The platform, which claimed to be based in Belize, attracted over 126,000 members from 231 countries. It promised returns through Bitcoin (BTC) trading software. However, no evidence of any such trading platform or software was found by investigators.
The indictment shows that investors entrusted TCC with more than 82,000 Bitcoin, valued at over $290 million during the investment period. Braga is accused of misappropriating these funds, transferring at least $50 million in Bitcoin to accounts under his control between December 2016 and July 2019.
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller described the operation as a typical Ponzi scheme. Early investors were paid using deposits from new participants. Braga promoted TCC worldwide, conducting presentations in Thailand, Nigeria, and Macau throughout 2017.
Investigation and Legal Proceedings
The scheme began to unravel in late 2017 when investors reported difficulties accessing their funds. By January 2018, TCC announced it was ceasing U.S. operations and canceled user accounts, affecting several investors in Washington state.
Federal investigators also shared details of significant tax evasion. Braga allegedly failed to report substantial cryptocurrency earnings, receiving millions in Bitcoin but reporting only a fraction of it as income.
Braga now faces 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If found guilty, each charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
This case adds to a growing list of major cryptocurrency fraud prosecutions. In December 2024, Argentine authorities seized a $3.5 million USDT wallet linked to the Rainbowex trading Ponzi scheme. They also froze additional crypto wallets and bank accounts of suspected participants.
In October 2024, disbarred California attorney David Kagel, 86, received five years of probation and was ordered to pay $13.94 million in restitution for operating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of approximately $15 million.
These prosecutions indicate law enforcement’s increased focus on cryptocurrency fraud across international jurisdictions. Agencies are collaborating and using various methods to track and seize the crypto involved in these financial crimes.
