Mining Capital Coin's Jr. Caputti indicted on fraud charges
A $62 million Ponzi scheme came crashing down this spring when the Justice Department unsealed fraud charges against Mining Capital Coin's co-founder and CEO Luiz Carlos Capuci Jr.
The DOJ filed the indictment under seal on April 28th, hitting Capuci with three counts of wire and securities fraud. By May 5th, the government moved to unseal the charges, and the court approved. But Capuci was already gone.
Capuci, who also goes by Jr. Caputti, Junior Caputti, and Junior Capuci, holds dual Brazilian and US citizenship and had been living in Florida. When he was served a subpoena as part of a parallel SEC investigation, he fled to Brazil. On May 2nd, Capuci was scheduled to board a flight from Brazil to Miami. He never showed up.
The government believes he won't come back. According to the DOJ's motion to unseal the indictment, Capuci is aware that Brazil does not extradite its own citizens—a legal fact prosecutors say guided his decision to stay abroad and out of reach.
Capuci co-founded Mining Capital Coin with Emerson Souza Pires in late 2017. From day one, they went after investors hard, pitching the operation as a lucrative opportunity in cryptocurrency mining, trading, and foreign exchange markets. The pitch was simple and effective. The facts were not.
The government alleges that Capuci and Pires—referred to in the indictment as "CC-1"—knowingly lied to investors about Mining Capital Coin's capabilities. They claimed the company operated "technological mining facilities with the best equipment located in the United States." No such facilities existed. They had no best equipment. They had no mining operation at all.
This was a classic crypto con. Capuci and Pires used social media to drum up interest, posting videos that sold the dream while the money poured in from retail investors around the world. They collected approximately $62 million before the scheme unraveled.
The tactics track with what's become standard for MLM crypto operations. Mining and trading claims are the go-to cover stories for Ponzi schemes operating in the crypto space. Operators promise returns from legitimate business activity that never happens, using incoming investor money to pay earlier investors just long enough to keep the scam alive.
Capuci's fraud relied on the same old mechanics. The SEC unsealed its civil action against him the same day the criminal indictment came out. By then, he was already confident in his escape route. He knew the limits of US law enforcement's reach. He knew Brazil wouldn't send him back.
The unsealing of the indictment serves another purpose: warning potential victims and flagging the scheme before more money flows in. But for now, Capuci remains at large, counting on geography and citizenship to shield him from prosecution.
🤖 Quick Answer
Who is Luiz Carlos Capuci Jr. and what are the charges against him?Luiz Carlos Capuci Jr., also known as Jr. Caputti, is the co-founder and CEO of Mining Capital Coin, indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in April on three counts of wire and securities fraud related to a $62 million Ponzi scheme. He holds dual Brazilian and American citizenship and fled to Brazil after being served a subpoena by the SEC.
What happened to Capuci after the indictment was unsealed?
After the fraud charges were unsealed in May, Capuci disappeared. He had been residing in Florida but fled to Brazil upon receiving a subpoena from the SEC. On May 2nd, he was scheduled to board a flight from Brazil to Miami but never appeared, becoming a fugitive from U.S. federal authorities.
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