Forcount scammer Juan Antonio Tacuri Fajardo has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Following an initial not guilty plea, Tacuri changed his mind and pled guilty at a hearing held on June 5th.

Tacuri (right) is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24th, 2024. In the meantime, a June 7th Preliminary Order of Forfeiture details the money side of Tacuri’s expected judgment.

As per the June 7th order, Tacuri has consented to forfeiting

  1. $3.6 million tied to his Forcount scamming; and
  2. a five bedroom residential home in Orlando, Florida, purchased with stolen Forcount investor funds.

Forcount was an MLM crypto Ponzi scheme launched in 2018. Tacuri, a top promoter of the scam, and several co-conspirators were indicted in 2022.

Tacuri is the first Forcount defendant to enter into a plea agreement. I expect we’ll be seeing more guilty pleas from the remaining four defendants.

The SEC also filed fraud charges against Tacuri and three accomplices in December 2022. The SEC’s civil fraud case has been stayed pending the outcome of criminal proceedings.

 

Update 29th September 2024 – Following a joint letter motion filed on September 4th, Tacuri’s sentencing has been rescheduled for October 15th, 2024.

Sentencing submissions from Tacuri and the DOJ were filed on September 20th and 27th respectively.

 

Update 28th October 2024 – Juan Tacuri has been sentenced to twenty years in prison.