Last week the Department of Justice announced the launch of the remission compensation process to provide recovery to victims of AirBit Club, a purported virtual currency mining and trading company that was a pyramid scheme. Beginning in late 2015, promoters marketed AirBit Club as a multilevel marketing club. Promoters promised victims that AirBit Club memberships earned passive, guaranteed daily returns on virtual currency mining and trading.
Key details of the case
Hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at convincing victims to purchase AirBit Club memberships and further promote the scheme. While victims saw “profits” accumulate on their online portal, those representations were false; no virtual currency mining or trading took place. In August 2020, the U.S.
Moreover, attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced charges against five defendants, including the AirBit co-founders Pablo Renato Rodriguez and Gutemberg Dos Santos, who were sentenced in September 2023. Other defendants included promoters Cecilia Millan and Karina Chairez and attorney Scott Hughes, who were sentenced in October 2023 and ordered to forfeit all of their fraudulent proceeds realized from the scheme. Included substantial amounts of virtual currency.
To date, the United States has forfeited over $400 million in assets which are now available to compensate eligible victims for their compensable losses. Any victims who have previously provided their information to the FBI or U.S. Attorney’s Office will be contacted by the remission administrator, RCB Fund Services, LLC, (RCB) to file a petition.
Enforcement actions and official statements
“The Department will vigorously pursue those that abuse new technologies to steal millions from hard-working individuals,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendants took advantage of virtual currency’s popularity to promote the scheme and recruit additional victims. For complete details, refer to the official DOJ press release.
The criminal convictions and substantial asset recoveries obtained by prosecutors and law enforcement partners have enabled the Department to successfully launch this significant victim compensation effort.”. “Investor euphoria over new technology is all too often fertile ground for fraudsters,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York.
Consequently, “It is our job to root out those fraudsters. Here, the defendants led a multimillion-dollar pyramid scheme based on lies about virtual currency trading and mining. They now face justice. For related coverage, see The fraud division launches west coast strike force to target health care fraud schemes across arizona, nevada, and northern california — DOJ.
This outcome should deter anyone who may be tempted to target others with false promises of high returns in virtual currency investments.”. “HSI New York's El Dorado Financial Crimes Task Force, the largest anti-money laundering task force in the United States, is proud to have played a vital role in delivering justice to the victims of the fraudulent AirBit Club," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. “Virtual currency fraud is one of the costliest scams affecting victims today.
HSI New York, along with our law enforcement partners through our newly formed Homeland Security Task Force, will continue to pursue fraudsters who promote these schemes. Will utilize every tool at our disposal to recover their ill-gotten gains for investor victims.”. Vogel for the Southern District of New York represented the government in both the criminal prosecution and forfeiture proceedings with valuable assistance from forfeiture contract paralegal Christina Lopresti. For related coverage, see Former NFL player sentenced to over 16 years in prison for $197m medicare fraud — DOJ.
HSI’s El Dorado Task Force, HSI Panama, the HSI Panama City Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit. HSI New Orleans investigated the case. Attorneys and investigators at the SEC brought substantial expertise and diligence to develop the investigation.
At the same time, the Department of Justice, through the Asset Forfeiture Program, works diligently to compensate victims of crime. Since 2000, the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF). Oversees the Asset Forfeiture Program’s victim compensation program, has returned more than $12.5 billion in forfeited assets to victims of crime.
In particular, mNF Senior Attorney Advisor Carly Diroll-Black with MNF’s Program Management and Training Unit is leading the remission process. . Neither the Remission Administrator nor the Department of Justice will ask for any payment to participate in this remission process. Please be cautious of any individual or organization claiming to represent the Remission Administrator or the federal government in this matter.
If you are a victim, any communications will come directly from the Remission Administrator or from government representatives with whom you have already had contact. PSA: FBI Warns of the Impersonation of Law Enforcement and Government Officials https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250418. PSA: Fictitious Law Firms Targeting Cryptocurrency Scam Victims Combine Multiple Exploitation Tactics While Offering to Recover Funds https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2025/PSA250813.
