A group that reportedly conned victims in 35 countries out of 645 million euros ($686.41 million) through a scheme focused on medical cannabis plants has been apprehended by police forces led by Spain.
According to a statement from the Spanish National Police, the gang set up a marketing system and went to international cannabis fairs to persuade victims to invest in the system.
With the assistance of Europol and the police forces of five additional nations, it oversaw the operation.
On April 11, nine unidentified individuals were taken into custody on charges of defrauding the governments of Spain, Britain, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Italy, and the Dominican Republic.
According to Spanish police spokeswoman Silvia Garrido, “The business model offered by this organization consisted of using the capital transferred from investors to develop partnerships to finance the cultivation of cannabis plants.”
“With this system, they promised victims profits of between 70% and 168% per year, depending on the species of cannabis in which they invested.”
One of the participating agencies in the operation, the British National Crime Agency (NCA), stated that 180,000 investors put money into “JuicyFields,” referring to it as “a notorious and elaborate Ponzi fraud scheme”.
Laptops 1000Additionally, according to the NCA, a 42-year-old male showed up in court in London on April 11 to begin the extradition process.
According to investigators, the scam was advertised using expensive automobiles, lavish parties, and music videos. Victims were even brought to legitimate cannabis farms that were part of the plot.
In 2022, police conducted raids; however, they did not disclose whether any individuals had been charged with any crimes. 106,000 euros in cash was found, and bank accounts holding 58,600.00 euros and 116,300.00 euros in cryptocurrency were frozen by police. Seized properties had a total value of 2.6 billion euros.
