(Newswire.net — January 26, 2017) —The cash, which was hidden inside a bed, stashed in a mattress, in an apartment in Massachusetts, has been seized as part of a wide-ranging investigation into an internet telecom company TelexFree, that was actually a massive international pyramid scheme.
TelexFree, a Marlborough, Massachusetts-based company purportedly sold VOIP telephone service, and cheated off almost a million people, and stole around a billion dollars.
Investigators found the money, almost $20 million cash, following a Brazilian who has been linked to fraud. His name is Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, and he was charged with conspiring to commit money laundering.
A judge decided to keep Rocha in prison, because of the risk of escape. If it turns out that he is found guilty, he could end up spending up to 20 years in prison and be fined twice the gross gain or loss, reports Daily Mail.
According to prosecutors, TelexFree made most of its income from people buying into the company with a promise of payouts for posting online ads for it. They were paid with money from new recruits, often friends and family of earlier investors.
According to prosecutors, TelexFree made most of its income from people buying into the company with a promise of payouts for posting online ads. But, customers were paid with money from new recruits, often friends and family of earlier investors, and so on.
In 2014, TelexFree filed for bankruptcy, its assets remained frozen, and its two directors – James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler, were indicted on federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.
Merrill, former chief executive, pleaded guilty in October and awaits sentencing on February 2, while Wanzeler managed to escape to his native Brazil, where he currently resides.
Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha is probably a courier for Wanzeler’s nephew, according to court documents. He flew from Brazil to New York City a few days ago, and met with a cooperating witness at a restaurant in Hudson, Massachusetts, and gave him a suitcase containing $2.2 million.
But, federal agents followed Rocha after the meeting and later arrested him in the Westborough apartment, where they found more money hidden inside a box spring.