Football star denied taking part in a crypto scheme.
Retired football player Ronaldinho denied involvement in an alleged $61m cryptocurrency pyramid scheme. He testified before a Brazilian congressional committee and stated he took no part in the scheme despite it bearing his name.
A firm called 18K Ronaldinho was accused of deceiving customers by promising returns of up to 400% in less than one year's time. Some of the promotional material claimed as much as 2% daily returns.
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The football star was charged in February 2020 after victims of the scam filed a lawsuit seeking 300m reais (around $61m) in damages.
Ronaldinho said his image was used by the scammers without permission. He explained that in 2019, he signed a contract with 18K Watches, a watch company for which he took promotional pictures. The contract had then been voided, and the images were allegedly used to lie to investors of a new venture. The former player alleged he’s a victim, too.
He said:
It is not true I am the founder and controlling partner of 18K Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho didn’t make an appearance at two prior hearing dates, citing weather conditions as the reason. In turn, the committee threatened to use authorities to compel him to testify.
Reportedly, he said nothing when asked if he would reimburse those who invested in the fraudulent company.
Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly charged 11 companies for falsely promising high returns on crypto.
This is not the first time that stars and influencers have gotten embroidered in crypto scams. Denish Sahadevan, a TikTok personality known as Danny Devan, pleaded guilty to money laundering with Bitcoin and wire fraud.
