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$155M Investment Scam Exposed
Three men, Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, 54, of Madrid, Spain; Fernando Haberer Bergson, 48, of Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Ernesto Heraclito Weisson Pazmino, 53, of Miami, Florida, have been charged and arrested in an alleged $155 million investment fraud scheme.
According to the indictment, Cortes and Weisson founded Biscayne Capital, a financial services company, in 2005. Between 2013 and 2018, the trio, along with others, orchestrated a scheme to defraud Biscayne Capital clients and financial institutions through a series of material misrepresentations and omissions.
The indictment alleges the defendants and their co-conspirators used the funds they fraudulently obtained from clients and financial institutions to pay other investors, cover Biscayne Capital expenses, and pay themselves millions of dollars.
By September 2018, the alleged scheme collapsed, and Biscayne Capital went into liquidation, causing more than $155 million in losses to Biscayne Capital clients.
Weisson had an initial court appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. If convicted of all counts, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 70 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the IRS-CI Global Illicit Financial Team and HSI. Trial Attorneys Randall Warden and Shaunik R. Panse of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS); Trial Attorney John (Fritz) Scanlon of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Gopstein and Benjamin Weintraub of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in this matter.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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