Two bodyguards protecting MasBitcoin CEO Jorge Sanchez were killed on May 6, 2018, during an ambush in Cerritos San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Sanchez, found visibly shaken and covered in blood, later vowed revenge, according to a video shared online. The incident followed the collapse of MasBitcoin, a cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded its primarily Mexican investor base.
Gunmen intercepted Sanchez's convoy around midnight. Local reports indicate the bodyguards traveled in a separate vehicle, one of whom reportedly worked for a private security firm. Following the shootout, Sanchez fled the scene in his BMW. Police later stopped him nearby, noticing the car riddled with bullet holes. Authorities seized the vehicle as evidence in what they are investigating as a double homicide.
MasBitcoin launched in mid-2017, presenting itself as a cryptocurrency investment opportunity. The scheme promised affiliates a 5% daily return on investment for 40 days, totaling a 200% profit. This model relied heavily on new investor funds to pay earlier participants, a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.
The company also paid pyramid referral commissions. These payouts occurred both directly and residually through binary and matrix team structures. Affiliates earned money not from legitimate trading or business activity, but from recruiting new members who then invested bitcoin into the system. This created an unsustainable structure dependent on continuous growth.
New investor funds began to slow significantly in early 2018, leading to the scheme's inevitable collapse. MasBitcoin informed its users of a shutdown in February or early March, with passive yield accumulation ceasing on March 21, 2018. The company cited "embezzlement" as the reason for its failure, a common explanation offered by failing pyramid schemes to deflect blame from their inherently unsustainable models.
Despite promises to return invested funds to those who suffered losses, no such repayments appear to have occurred. This outcome caused significant anger among MasBitcoin's investor base, concentrated largely within Mexico. The video featuring Sanchez, posted by "EvitarFraudes," included a caption noting, "This is what happens when you scam, they kill you. Here Jorge Sanchez the CEO of MasBitcoin. You should not play with people's money."
Sanchez appeared in the video wearing what looked like a bulletproof vest. His vow for revenge suggests he may have identified those responsible for the ambush. The exact amount of money Sanchez allegedly stole from MasBitcoin investors remains unclear.
Mexican authorities continue their investigation into the May 6 double homicide. The seized BMW belonging to Sanchez remains a key piece of evidence in the ongoing case.