Two brothers from Elda are on trial for 4 million fraud

Elda’s brothers, Daniel and Camilo Paterna, will face trial in the National Court for leading a €4 million cryptocurrency investment scam through their company, ‘Generación Zoe.’

In addition to them, the National Court has charged 16 other individuals with organised crime, ongoing fraud, and money laundering for their actions between 2010 and 2011.

Those involved stated that their clients would make “exorbitant” profits; however, the funds were moved to buy real estate and luxury cars.

According to the court overseeing the case, more than 100 people have fallen victim to a scam that follows “the basic scheme of a pyramid scheme.”

Their modus operandi consisted of luring clients via social media and following meetings, during which they offered excessive rewards in exchange for an initial monetary investment.

At the beginning of the firm, initial memberships were established through so-called “memberships,” with a period of at least three years, via bank transfer, but eventually everything was provided and received in cash.

According to the verdict, there were also so-called “robot-bots,” which were transitory offers made by administrators in a WhatsApp group to which they had previously introduced clients once they joined.

“This scheme was based on attracting as many new customers as possible, since each person who introduced a new customer earned 20% more profit than the amount the new customer earned,” the tribunal’s ruling stated.

As a result, whistleblowers were encouraged to seek new investors, and the income of those at the top of the organisation continued to rise,” the judge notes.

Organisation

According to Calama, the suspects formed a structured organisation with task divisions, with Daniel P. serving as president and his brother, Camilo, as vice president.

“This pyramid scheme was not only used to get those who had invested to contribute more money, but also to attract new investors who saw the large, almost immediate profits received by previous investors,” according to the judge.

The investigator’s ruling explains that the accused’ deception scheme was based on an effective advertising infrastructure and a presence on social media.

“The business’s success generated the image that any speculative bubble requires: the perception that the investor always wins, and that investment returns continue to grow, which became the product’s best advertisement,” he says.

The court verdict further states that the 4 million euros defrauded were mostly utilised for advertising and marketing expenses to attract more investors.

In addition, its leaders will benefit financially from the acquisition of multiple high-end houses and automobiles, as well as cash refunds and card purchases.

According to the text, some of these monies were moved from Spain to Andorra or Estonia after it was discovered that an investigation into their criminal structure was underway.

Last year, Netflix ever made a film about Generation Zoe called ‘Illusions for Sale: The Rise and Fall of Generation Zoe.’