Horst Jicha talks about cryptocurrencies.
Source: Team Business Global | YouTube
A German man accused of overseeing a $150 million cryptocurrency scam and held in home detention in New York City on a $5 million bond guaranteed by his partner and children in the country is now a fugitive. It becomes.
“A very active investigation is underway to apprehend him,” John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said Friday, a day after Horst Zicha failed to appear in Brooklyn federal court as scheduled. said.
“We're going to forfeit the bond,” Marzulli added. This means prosecutors will seek to obtain the $4 million portion of the bond personally guaranteed by Jicha's partner, children and three others who live in Germany.
An additional $1 million in cash was held with the federal government to secure the bond.
Prosecutors from the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office told a judge Thursday that Horst allegedly tampered with an ankle bracelet monitor on Oct. 3 during a hearing that was supposed to address pretrial issues in the case. I told you.
After noticing that Jicha's ankle bracelet was not working, a pretrial services worker sent Jicha an email instructing him to come to the office the next day. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Aurelia Merchant that Jicha never showed up.
Pretrial services first informed prosecutors that Jicha's ankle bracelet was no longer working 26 hours after they learned of that fact, prosecutors told the judge.
Jicha's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CNBC has reached out to Brooklyn Federal Court Pretrial Services for comment.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace releases a statement after the court hearing for former Congressman George Santos on August 19, 2024 in West Islip, New York.
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Jicha is scheduled to go to trial on March 31 on multiple charges of securities fraud and conspiracy in connection with the multi-level marketing scheme known as USI Tech.
Prosecutors say Jicha lied to individual investors, telling them they would earn an average profit of 140% in 140 days.
Investors were told there were two ways to make money. The first is that you can invest in a business that purports to mine and trade Bitcoin. According to the indictment against Jicha, they may also earn commissions by referring others to purchase USI Tech products.
“In reality, the platform was just a sham, and when questions arose, Jicha stole millions of dollars of investor funds and fled the country,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said in January. Ta.
As of Friday, Jicha's whereabouts were unknown. He lived in Brazil and Spain before his arrest in Florida in late 2023, according to court records..
Jicha was released on bail in January and was living in Brooklyn.
Conditions of Jicha's release require him to remain in New York City or Long Island and not leave his home except for court appearances, visits with his attorney, and medical appointments, unless cleared by pretrial services. was.
Jicha, 64, was also asked to hand over all passports and travel documents as a condition of his release.
Court records show Jicha's $5 million release bond was guaranteed and signed in January by his domestic partner, Ewa Jicha, and Jicha's adult. According to court records, the charges were made by a son, his three daughters, the boyfriend of one of Jicha's daughters, the boyfriend's brother, and her father.
All of the people were residents of the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, according to court records.
However, based on the terms of the bond, they will be personally liable for the amount of the bond.
After Horst Jicha was released, Ewa Jicha served as his third-party guardian and was required to report any violations related to his release to a U.S. probation officer.
Jicha was arrested in Miami on December 23 after entering the United States for the first time in more than five years for vacation.
Prosecutors say Jicha founded USI Tech in Europe and, as co-founder and CEO, the company “makes crypto investing easy and accessible for the average individual investor. ”, he claims.
“In reality, this was a multi-level marketing scheme that relied on investors recruiting other investors under them to purchase various purported crypto investments,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said in January. stated.
“In 2017, Jicha brought USI Tech to the US and aggressively marketed it to US retailers through social media and in-person presentations, falsely guaranteeing high investment returns and making false claims about the legality of the platform's investment products. '', the office said. YouTube has multiple videos of Jicha promoting the company.
In early 2018, after USI Tech came under regulatory scrutiny in the U.S., “USI Tech ceased all U.S. operations overnight, leaving investors unable to access their funds and resulting in millions of dollars in losses.” We suffered a loss.”
Prosecutors said much of the money lost in the fraud, valued at “approximately $150 million as of the date of arrest,” was kept in the following formats: ether and Bitcoin Cryptocurrency. After USI Tech ceased operations, its virtual currency was transferred to a digital deposit address controlled by Jicha.
