U.S. Court Advances Sentencing in AirBit Club Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is advancing in the sentencing process for key individuals involved in the notorious cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as AirBit Club.

Sentencing of AirBit Club Defendants Announced

On October 3, the office of the US attorney for New York officially announced the sentencing of three out of the five surviving defendants implicated in the AirBit case. The sentenced individuals include Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, and Karina Chairez, all of whom had previously pleaded guilty to money laundering and related charges earlier in 2023.

Scott Hughes, an attorney accused of laundering approximately $18 million in proceeds from the AirBit Club fraud, received an 18-month prison sentence. Cecilia Millan, a senior-level promoter for AirBit Club, was sentenced to five years behind bars, while Karina Chairez, another senior-level promoter, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

Additionally, Hughes was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Millan and Chairez received three years and three months of supervised release, respectively.

Presentation as a Cryptocurrency MLM Club

The AirBit Club scheme was launched in late 2015. It had presented itself as a "multi-level marketing club" within the cryptocurrency industry. The defendants used enticing presentations to deceive investors into believing that AirBit Club guaranteed daily returns through crypto mining and trading activities.

However, instead of funding the promoted crypto operations, which had never existed, approximately $100 million of investors' funds ended up in the hands of the scheme's founders and promoters. Despite early complaints from users about withdrawal delays and hidden fees in 2016, the AirBit Club continued its fraudulent activities until 2020.

The US Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the pivotal roles played by Hughes, Millan, and Chairez in perpetuating the AirBit Club pyramid scheme. Williams stated: "At the top-tier of promoters, Millan and Chairez for years aggressively solicited investments from and misled hardworking and unsophisticated investors to line their own pockets."

He added: "Today's sentences send a message that anyone who facilitates cryptocurrency investment schemes — not only those at the very top of the pyramid — will face serious consequences for such crimes."

These verdicts are subsequent to the legal proceedings involving Pablo Rodriguez, the Co-Founder of AirBit Club. He was found guilty and faced a 12-year prison term in late September 2023. Another Co-Founder, Dos Santos has pleaded guilty to charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and bank fraud conspiracy.

Santos will learn of his fate on October 4, 2023. He is the final defendant to be sentenced out of a total of six individuals associated with the AirBit Club, with one defendant, Jackie Aguilar, passing away before being convicted in May, after pleading guilty in February 2023.