Generation Zoe’s Gustavo Saavedra sentenced to 4 yrs prison
The first of “around 31” Generation Zoe defendants has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Gustavo Saavedra, who worked as a lawyer for Generation Zoe, pled guilty to fraud charges last month.
Following entry of his guilty plea, Saavedra was subject to an “abbreviated trial” as per Argentinian law.
As reported by VillaMariaYa! on June 15th, at the conclusion of the one-day trial Saavedra (right) was sentenced to four years in prison.
Towards the end, Saavedra said that he was sorry and that he asked the victims for forgiveness.
With respect to restitution, 38,000 ARS (~$150) and a Ford Ka hatchback belonging to Saavedra was seized.
Saavedra’s prison sentence has no doubt dashed any hope of the remaining ~31 or so defendants getting off lightly.
Remember, Saavedra pled guilty. The Generation Zoe defendants who go to trial will face harsher sentences if convicted.
While there are no concrete dates, Argentinian authorities hope to conclude trials of the remaining defendants by the end of the year.
The only Generation Zoe suspect Argentinian authorities haven’t been able to apprehend is Hector Luis Yrimia.
Yrimia, a former Judge, fled to Dubai in September 2021 upon learning he was under investigation.
Argentinian authorities obtained an international arrest warrant for Yrimia, prompting him to turn himself over to Interpol’s Dubai branch.
Instead of arresting Yrimia and initiating extradition proceedings, Interpol Dubai let him go.
Argentinian authorities have contacted Dubai’s authorities multiple times to request Yrimia’s arrest, only to be ignored.
Yrimia still has an international arrest warrant out on him. Now believed to be under the protection of corrupt local authorities, Yrimia continues to live openly in Dubai.
Leonardo Cositorto must be positively terrified.
The lawyer who pled guilty, had $150 lying around and a hatchback gets 4 years. What is the founder and CEO who stole millions going to get?
Damn, if only every jurisdiction could be this hard.
Gigachad Argentina: You helped a Ponzi scheme, didn’t make much but pled guilty and showed remorse for the Ponzi’s victims?
We’ll take your $150 and crappy car… but you still get FOUR YEARS IN PRISON!
Virgin France: You were chief intelligence and coordinated money laundering for a $4 billion Ponzi scheme?
Wee wee croissant! Right this way to the Luxembourg border monsieur! Also please accept this gift pack from the French government. Bon voyage!
What happened to the OneCoin promoters detained in Argentina?
Two pled guilty and were sent to prison last November.
Haven’t heard anything on the others. Case might be held up because Jose Gordo is a suspect and he’s overseas.
Instead of saying GigaChad Argentina (Where the autorities do not act accordingly), I would praise one lady, Girlboss Juliana Companys and the Villa María prosecutors office.
As per Cositorto’s reaction, well, I recently shared his views before Saavedra’s trial
behindmlm.com/companies/generation-zoe/generation-zoe-lawyer-gustavo-saavedra-pleads-guilty/#comment-467138
I am looking forward to listening Cositorto’s next “Columna tumbera” (Jailhouse interview)
Last but not least, in addition to Yrimia, Venezuelan national Rosa María González Rincón is still on the run.
clarin.com/sociedad/vender-bunuelos-inversiones-imposibles-historia-rosa-maria-profuga-buscada-generacion-zoe_0_siEjVI7Zqf.html
González Rincón was pivotal for the operation of the scam, since she was in charge of “Zoe Trader” and allegedlly she is in possesion of the wallets that received all the victims’ money.
Rumor has it, she’s been evading capture with the help of former police officers that were either part of Generation Zoe, or are getting extra cash as part of an operation to give Yrimia more time.
The “gigachad” meme kind of implied that given it referred to Judge Dottori’s sentencing :D. Well done to the prosecuting team and investigators of course.
Cositorto does indeed sound like he’s losing his mind. You have a lot of time to think in prison.
Sure Oz, my bad, but I forgot that I wanted to write a bit about Buenos Aires Justice and the Federal System. Ariel Lijo keeps giving time to former Zoe Buenos Aires people. They have already fled, businesses were closed and evidence was destroyed.
There are also hints of political links with prominent Buenos Aires leaders. And let’s not forget that there are recordings in which Norman Próspero(Zoe accountant) wsa implying that they wanted the case to be held in Buenos Aires, an “amicable” jurisdiction.
This is part of that conversation:
(Google translate, and redacted/checked by me)
iprofesional.com/actualidad/365100-exclusivo-escuchas-del-caso-cositorto-y-generacion-zoe-parte-ii
@Oz
Last week Cositorto did not have his weekly space on Radio “El Mundo” BUT we had something better. Guillermo Dragotto, one of Cositorto’s lawyers (the other one is the media-obsessed guy Miguel Pierri) was interviewed yesterday and said quite a few interesting things:
– Revealead the Gustavo Saavedra got a deal and he will be released later that day after “having completed formation and training during his time in jail”
– Claimed that the so called “Cositorto’s failed prison break” was fake, and accused Saavedra of crafting that lie and revealing it as part of his deal.
– Reiterated that Yrimia was Zoe’s legal advisor and although existing an Interpol red notice for his extradition, Yrimia is happy and living care free in Dubai.
– Confirmed the rumours of Rosa María González (Venezuelan former housewife turned star trader) is being protected by people close to Yrimia and other members of Zoe, including police officers.
Dragotto also said that “if there’s still money, Gonzalez has it, since she was in charge of all trading operations” later adding that “she received money from all Zoe offices and was the custodian of 611 bitcoins”.
@Seba
I don’t know how client-attorney privilege might play into it but if this Dragotta guy is spilling the beans publicly, perhaps he should be a person of interest to Argentine authorities.
@Oz
It would undoubtedly be very important for the authorities (Bah, Justice Companys who is the only one making actual progress against Generación Zoe) to initiate inquiries after what was revealed by Dragotto.
The problem is – at least partly – due to Cositorto’s poor judgment when choosing legal representation. Miguel Pierri and Guillermo Dragotto are both high-profile-pricey lawyers.
And it is funny -to say the least- that Cositorto, a man who always loved talking (in derogative terms) of “Mainstream/Traditional Education” have chosen a couple of boastful, expensive, and flamboyant (seasoned with a bit of stupidity) lawyers.
If Dragotto believes that by blaming Gonzalez Rincón he will exonerate Cositorto, he is very wrong.
As soon as the media reports more on the topic I will keep you posted 😀