Venezuelan authorities have arrested Rosa María González, a key determine within the collapse of Argentine crypto agency Generación Zoe, almost 4 years after the scandal left tens of hundreds of traders defrauded.
González, 30, was taken into custody in San Cristóbal, Táchira state, following an Interpol operation.
González is accused of fleeing Argentina with 611 Bitcoin, price roughly $56 million immediately. She had spent years evading authorities, reportedly transferring between residences in Buenos Aires with non-public safety earlier than crossing into Venezuela, in line with native experiences.
Her arrest comes virtually precisely one yr after Leonardo Cositorto, the founding father of Generación Zoe, was sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Generación Zoe promised traders unusually excessive returns, claiming to make use of proprietary buying and selling algorithms with so-called “quantum safety.” In actuality, investigators say the corporate operated a traditional Ponzi scheme, paying older traders with funds from new individuals.
González reportedly launched Cositorto to the buying and selling algorithms that turned the centerpiece of the fraud. In promotional movies, she claimed the algorithms may generate month-to-month returns of as much as 70%.
Constant crypto crime
After the agency collapsed in the course of 2022, González reportedly remained lively within the crypto world attempting to work up some new schemes.
Sources say she tried to launch a brand new scheme focusing on Argentine traders, promising 5% month-to-month returns on stakes of $1,000 or extra, utilizing crypto transactions by way of corporations supposedly primarily based in the UK.
She allegedly funded former associates in Venezuela to recruit traders and handle the brand new mission. Early experiences recommend the plan defrauded not less than a dozen people, totaling roughly $300,000.
Extraditing González to Argentina is anticipated to be troublesome. Argentina severed diplomatic ties with Venezuela in 2024, and no embassy at present operates in Caracas.
Brazil, which had been managing diplomatic affairs, lately withdrew, leaving no nation in command of Argentine pursuits. Interpol officers advised native media that sending federal police into Venezuela isn’t secure, complicating any repatriation.
Cositorto has referred to as on González to cooperate, expressing hope that her testimony may assist get well a number of the defrauded funds.
Sources near the case say González could have been pressured or manipulated into a number of the fraudulent actions, although investigators stay targeted on her direct position in orchestrating scams.
DLNews reporting offered background info for this text.
