The fate of AirBit Club’s co-founder, Dos Santos, remains shrouded in uncertainty as he stands as the last defendant in the AirBit case yet to receive sentencing. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York diligently advances through the sentencing proceedings for the key figures entangled in the web of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as AirBit Club.
On October 3rd, the U.S. Attorney’s office in New York made an official declaration regarding the sentencing of three out of the five remaining defendants implicated in the AirBit case. Among them were Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, and Karina Chairez. These sentences came after all three defendants pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and other transgressions related to the AirBit case early in the year 2023.
Hughes, an attorney who allegedly facilitated the laundering of approximately $18 million in AirBit Club’s ill-gotten gains, received a sentence of 18 months in federal prison. Millan, a high-ranking advocate for AirBit Club, was met with a more severe punishment, being sentenced to five years behind bars. Chairez, another prominent promoter of AirBit Club, was handed a sentence of one year and one day in prison.
In addition to their prison terms, Hughes received an additional three years of supervised release, while Millan and Chairez were each assigned three years and three months of supervised release.
The saga of AirBit Club commenced in late 2015, masquerading as a “multi-level marketing club” within the cryptocurrency sphere. The defendants artfully presented enticing proposals to deceive investors into believing that AirBit Club guaranteed daily returns through cryptocurrency mining and trading. However, contrary to their claims, $100 million of investors’ funds ended up lining the pockets of the scheme’s founders and promoters.
Despite early complaints from users about withdrawal delays and concealed fees in early 2016, AirBit Club continued its fraudulent activities unabated until 2020.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, in announcing these sentences, emphasized the pivotal roles played by Hughes, Millan, and Chairez in perpetuating the AirBit Club Ponzi scheme.
“At the upper echelons of promotion, Millan and Chairez zealously solicited investments and deceived diligent yet inexperienced investors for their personal gain,” Williams stated, adding:
“Today’s sentences convey a resounding message: anyone involved in facilitating cryptocurrency investment schemes, not just those at the pinnacle of the pyramid, will face severe consequences for their actions.”
These developments follow the sentencing of AirBit Club’s co-founder, Pablo Rodriquez, to a 12-year prison term in late September 2023. Dos Santos, another co-founder who has pleaded guilty to an array of charges, including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and bank fraud conspiracy, is slated for sentencing on October 4, 2023. Santos will be the final defendant to receive sentencing among the six individuals entangled in the AirBit Club web. Jackie Aguilar, who pleaded guilty in February 2023, tragically passed away in May, just weeks before her scheduled sentencing.
