Argentinian ‘Crypto Scammers Used Unknown Actors to Dupe an Entire City’

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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October 7, 2024

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Argentinian lawyers say that up to 20,000 people in San Pedro, Buenos Aires, have invested their money in a USDT-themed “bogus crypto project” promoted by little-known actors.

The lawyers say they represent some of the platform’s “victims.” They claim masterminds “promised to double” investors’ stake money “in six weeks.”

Argentinian ‘Crypto Pyramid’ Promised Daily Returns of up to 2%

They claim the platform operators offered some investors “daily returns of between 1% and 2%, paid in US dollars.”

The San Pedro-based lawyer Adolfo Erdaire claimed at least 50 “victims” were set to file official complaints against a firm named Knight Consortium.

Per Ambito, Erdaire said that “many” of the city’s residents had “invested all their savings” in the “crypto exchange.” Their number includes several “retirees,” he added.

“Some people have not been able to withdraw money from the platform for three weeks. And because they have not been able to do so, they are worried. And that worry has now turned into fear.”

Lawyer Adolfo Erdaire

Pagina12 reported that the consortium said it was operating a crypto platform and token called “RainbowEx.”

Firm Unregistered, Lawyers Claim

The consortium claims to be “a foundation” comprising a “group of shareholders.” The group “supposedly operates in the stock market and attracts retail investors from around the world.” The media outlet noted:

“However, this firm is not registered. And does not have any legal endorsement, or even legal support.”

Media outlets said the first lawsuits would “reach the courts around Thursday and Friday of this week.”

The media outlets said the platform “began to gain popularity” in the city “four years ago.” Initially, word of its existence “first spread by word of mouth,” and later it “went viral.”

The lawyer said that the case was now “dividing San Pedro.” Some residents appear to be clinging on to the hope that the platform is indeed legitimate.

He added that the investigation into the consortium had “just begun.” But he accused two men who fronted the consortium at San Pedro events of being “Polish actors impersonating CEOs.”

Social media users familiar with the Argentinian crypto scene echoed similar claims. A video circulating on X appears to show two of the supposed “CEOs” acting in TV dramas.

Investors say they were also given investing tips from an “Asian woman” who goes by the alias “La China (the Chinese woman).”

The lawyers said they wanted to find “who had hired these actors” to speak at events in San Pedro. They urged citizens:

“If you have taken financial advice from these people, take immediate action to protect your savings.”

La China’s Tips “Brought San Pedro to a Standstill”

Media outlets explained that San Pedro investors would follow La China’s Telegram channel. Residents waited eagerly for her nightly tips “about when to buy or sell cryptocurrencies.”

They said the wait for La China’s tips regularly “brought activity in San Pedro to a standstill.”

On X, the programmer Maximiliano Firtman commented that the consortium had duped an entire city into “believing they were the Wolf of Wall Street.”

The media outlets added that one of the “CEOs” who spoke at a consortium-organized event was a “Polish actor named Maurycy Lyczko.”

They added that Lyczko had confirmed he “was hired by an Asian person.” This person reportedly “paid Lyczko $1,500 for his performance” at a San Pedro hotel conference room.

Some TV news pundits have speculated that La China may not even be a real person. They claimed that she may have been created “using AI tools.”

However, internet sleuths appear to have tracked down an Indonesian woman bearing an incredible resemblance to “La China” advertising her acting services on the Fiverr platform.

Perfil quoted an investor named Mariano as explaining:

“A friend got me involved in [the project in] March. He promised me payments in dollars. And he told me that in 45 days I would receive my initial investment back, and that I would then be allowed to keep the profits.”

The investor said his friend promised to “convert” fiat pesos to USDT. The friend said they would “buy currency through” the RainbowEx exchange.