An alleged million-dollar scam in cryptocurrencies torments Brazilian footballers Gustavo Scarpa, Mayke and Willian Bigode, and has been attracting the attention of the press for several days in Brazil.
“I’ve always seen stupid people falling for pyramid schemes, scams, things like that. And to see myself in a situation like that, for me, is horrible,” says Scarpa, player of England’s Nottingham Forest and declared best player of the Brasileirao-2022, in a WhatsApp audio broadcast by the program Fantástico, of the Globo network.
They fell into the trap
The midfielder and Mayke, 30, both filed complaints last November alleging an alleged scam by the Brazilian company Xlandin which they invested a large part of their assets with the promise of receiving returns of up to 5% per month, according to what they told the civil police.
The soccer players, then playing for Palmeiras of Sao Paulo, went to the authorities after claiming their money in vain.
Scarpa claims the equivalent of US$1.2 million at the current exchange rate, while Mayke, one of the Paulista team’s referents, around US$762,000, according to the police statement.
Seleção and Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton was also allegedly harmed, although the goalkeeper has not spoken out, according to the media.
“There are indications that there was a crime of swindling,” Glaucius Vinicius Silva, delegate of the civil police, told Fantástico.
A chain of swindles
Scarpa and Mayke claim to have invested in Xland on the recommendation of his former Palmeiran teammate Willian Bigode, currently with Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro.
But he says he is also a victim of Xlandwhich resulted in a loss of some US$3.3 million between investment and returns.
“I am not a scammer, I did not take anyone’s money. I am a victim because until today I did not receive my resources,” he said in a video posted Monday on Instagram.
Xlandbased in Brasilia, declares itself a victim of the collapse of the exchange platform of cryptocurrencies FTX in late 2022, denies pyramid fraud, says it will compensate investors (AFP).
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