Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader with cryptocurrencies with almost 4,000 affected - It would be strange if Netflix or Amazon Prime were not interested in the story of Javier Biosca. If so, the last chapter would end with the head of the plot going to prison. It would be difficult not to give in to the temptation to let the next one jump. The problem is, there isn't. Reality will write the script of this story, whose protagonist began by investing in bitcoin what he got from pawning his mother's jewels and ended up fleeing justice as the leader of an alleged pyramid scam with cryptocurrencies.

The criminal complaint, to which had access, points out as possible crimes of Biosca those of " illicit association, intrusion, continued crime of fraud, misappropriation, receipt and money laundering, falsification in a public document, crimes against the Public Treasury, bribery, corporate crimes and cover-up”. It was admitted to procedure by the Central Court of Instruction number 1 of the National High Court, on May 4, 2021. In the order, it is assured that “the possible existence of a criminal structure is not ruled out” and that there are “a series of elements that determine prima facie the presence of a multiplicity of injured parties and affected provinces”.

Pulling flashback, you have to go to 2019 to know the beginning of the plot. The text of the complaint relates the facts. The lawyer Emilia Zaballos, managing partner of Zaballos Abogados and president of the Association of Affected by Investments in Cryptocurrencies, completes the chronicle in telephone conversation with this medium.

Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader

The complaint is directed against Javier Biosca Rodríguez; his wife, Paloma Gallardo Leal, and his son, Sergio Biosca Gallardo, as well as the commercial company Algorithmics Group Ltd (incorporated in London). It states that, in 2019, Mr. Biosca and the aforementioned relatives started “a business dedicated to investments in cryptocurrencies, especially bitcoin. He presented himself as a broker, despite not registering with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and without meeting any of the requirements required for such activity.”

The first contact Biosca had with digital currencies, says the lawyer, is " to invest in bitcoin the money his mother gives him after pawning his jewelry. That's what he starts playing with." Then– returning to the complaint -, he contacted a few investors, who gave him an initial amount and Biosca invested it guaranteeing a profit of between 20% and 25% weekly (although from January 2020 it would fall to 8% or 10%). He signed contracts with all his clients and, every week, wrote them a WhatsApp in which he indicated the profits obtained that week and gave them the option to recover or reinvest them. If they opted for the first option, I would make a bank transfer.

He easily had 30 or 40 clients, they stress in the complaint. Happy with the performance, word of mouth began and, in a short time, there were almost 500 investors. All of them were captured by Biosca itself or by one of its intermediaries, to whom it gave a commission.

Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader

Through a woman, who acts as a mediator (“and even gets him a bodyguard”, Zaballos notes), he rents a mansion in Marbella (leaving his home in Fuensalida-Toledo -), whose rent amounted to 15,000 euros a month. Biosca pays one year in advance, that is, 180,000 euros. Choose this place, it is argued in the text “" for being a perfect point for attracting large customers for your business”.

With the onset of the pandemic, the first defaults arrive, lasting approximately a month and a half. Later, he resumes his obligations and sends a message to investors, which is reproduced in the complaint:”In view of the large number of investors, they must apologize, but I had to take steps to readapt the organizational systems and business expansion to be able to better manage the investment portfolio and its profitability for the benefit of all".

To all, Zaballos says, “he told them that he had illegally obtained a bot from Amancio Ortega, who gave purchase and sale instructions. And that he had 5 engineers (who didn't know each other) working for him. He convinces them that he gets a return of 34% or 37% per week and can therefore pay them 25%.”

Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader

Investors see that the profits of that month and a half have been reinvested and therefore accumulate much more money than they had before the break. Biosca is gaining their trust again.

His fame continues to grow. The turning point, the document exposes, comes with the 'Bitcoin Party'. In this event full of “glamour ends up convincing skeptics and, after its celebration, already manages a fund of more than 3,000 customers”. It manages to reach, they indicate in the complaint, “large investors who put in their hands several million euros each. Capital and customers grow, but infrastructure does not.” Only, they detail “ "hires a girl he had met because she worked as a waitress in a restaurant where Biosca was a regular".

Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader: The profile of investors, highlights the lawyer, is “3% that exceed 500,000 euros of initial capital, 2% between 1.5 and 2 million euros,and the remaining 95% with smaller amounts: from 1,000 euros to 50,000"” Among his clients, Zaballos continues, " there is everything: police, judges, tax inspectors, notaries, lawyers, surveillance personnel, domestic workers...”. It has been demonstrated, highlights the complaint, " that some of them, encouraged by Mr. Biosca, came to ask for personal loans or mortgaged their flat to invest in bitcoin.”

With the growth of the business, errors in payments begin to occur, due to the enormous volume of work. This, the plaintiffs say, " makes investors nervous, but, above all, intermediaries. Several of them go to Biosca's house and verify that the control system is non-existent. He asks them for help, since he is collapsed, and they give it to him."

But it is of little use, since, at the end of October, there are again problems with payments and, “from December 2020, it stops paying in full and giving signs of life”. That's when, “together with a group of support and confidence –in which his wife and son were not– he leaves in a private jet to Guinea-Bissau. Even from the airport he sends a voice message (which is attached in the complaint) to his wife and son telling them to forward it to customers when he had left: in it he asks them for peace of mind.”

Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader

With the few he connects, the complaint continues “ " he tells them that he wants to buy a bank in Guinea-Bissau (the deed of the company established for this purpose in that country is also attached). Something I had tried unsuccessfully before in Seville." Of the people who left with him, almost all have been returning to Spain “" and they are the ones who have told the situation there lived (luxury hotels, security set by the local government...) ", and that later is counted in the complaint.

Meanwhile, in Marbella, his wife and son, "rent a cheaper house in the name of third parties, who lend themselves to do so at the request of Javier Biosca"” Both, the text states, “deny that they have any relationship with him, but on December 31 the woman sent him an email saying that everything was under control." They also make it clear that their economic situation is critical, which the plaintiffs also reject, since “Paloma had access to all the wallets with large amounts of bitcoin, as well as a large investment in jewelry of all kinds. It is evident that everything was a simulation to appear unrelated to the cause." Time passes and, on May 11, 2021, says the lawyer “" they put him in search and capture."

Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader: And, after this long look back, back in the present the news is that Javier Biosca was arrested, on June 7, 2021 in Torrox (Malaga). ” A success", points Emilia Zaballos. On 8 June, he was brought before the courts and Judge Santiago Pedraz ordered Javier Biosca to be held in pretrial detention without bail.

The lawyer estimates that the total number of people affected would easily be around 4,000 and that the debt could be several billion euros. He encourages everyone to join the lawsuit filed by the Association he presides, in which, at the moment, there are about 600 people who invested around 280 million euros.

Zaballos explains that 27 years ago they created the Zaballos Foundation for the Defense of Constitutional Rights. When in that association, the lawyer notes “ " we detect a violation of a constitutional right, we organize ourselves in associations, we create pressure groups and we give them a voice. Now we seek to regulate the whole issue of cryptocurrencies and we are creating a commission so that all parties are united, that this is regulated and special courts are created. That is why we make the Association of Affected People, which has the Foundation behind it.”

He states that the CNMV describes Javier Biosca's business as " a financial beach bar. The Banco de España knew that too and they don't do anything either. In the legal profession, for example, there is a crime of intrusion, but here, since it is not regulated, nothing happens. It's a huge money laundering niche, because of the lack of control there.”

# Provisional detention without bail alleged pyramid scam leader #