Man would have acted in other frauds, such as Bbom and Click Dreams
The Civil Police of Santa Catarina sent back to jail on Thursday (01) one of the biggest promoters of the financial pyramid Telexfree. The action, 3rd phase of Operation Pharaoh, occurred in Itajaí and Videira.
According to police, one of the accused was to serve house arrest in the Midwest of Santa Catarina, but was found in the municipality of Videira, which is 450 km from the capital, Florianopolis.
“He left the Midwest for the Coast to get new investors, new customers who would become victims in the future,” said delegate Eduardo Defaveri in the newspaper Cidade Alerta, broadcast by the NDTV network of Florianopolis.
According to the results of the operation, one of the investigated had seized about R$ 8 thousand, 3 notebooks, 2 computers, 4 cell phones, 3 luxury frames, a 22 caliber rifle, a drone, among other assets. According to the police, there was also a kidnapped property.
“From now on the investigations will continue to analyze the objects seized and promote the confrontation of the information obtained so far,” said the delegate in the note.
According to him, one of the people arrested couldn’t attract investors anymore because it would be marked in the Midwest region.
In addition to a known suspect, another person was arrested preventively and had three cell phones, notebook and money seized. According to the police, he is at the disposal of the Judiciary and the Public Ministry.
Telexfree Discloser arrested
There is no confirmation that it is the same person, but according to a report from Bitcoin Portal in September, the famous Clair Berti was arrested with an amount of R$ 105 thousand. The money was found inside boxes, shoes and even inside a violin case.
However, for health reasons, his arrest was converted into a home regime, through the use of electronic anklets.
He was arrested in several pyramids
As verified by Bitcoin’s Portal, besides Telexfree, it would have acted in other frauds, such as Bbom and Click Dreams, for example.
According to his track record in Justice, Berti is part of several lawsuits involving Telexfree since the coup came to light still in 2013. As a leader, he was one of the major publicists of the scheme.
In Brazil, Telexfree was commanded by Carlos Costa; in the USA, partially by Carlos Nataniel Wanzeler, who in the past renounced his Brazilian citizenship.
In May of this year, the Federal Justice of Espírito Santo sentenced Carlos and Wanzeler to 12 years and 6 months in prison for crimes against the financial system.
Last week, the STF authorized Wanzeler’s extradition to U.S. soil in response to a government request. There he can remain in prison for up to 30 years.
How Telexfree operated
Idealized by Carlos Wanzeler, Telexfree’s scheme was the sale of telephone packages that were just a front.
To divulge the product, the company adopted a multilevel marketing system that cost US$ 50 (around US$ 200) just for the adhesion tax. The prices of the packages went from US$ 289 to US$ 1,375.
To obtain profit, the ‘divulger’ would have to buy and resell packages to those who wanted to enter on the business. This way he would win a bonus for referral.
The reward stimulated the growth of the network, but it would become unsustainable when people stopped entering, a right outcome in any pyramid scheme, or Ponzi.