Former professional footballer Ronaldinho has denied being part of an alleged $61 million crypto scam during a Thursday Congressional hearing.
In a recent turn of events, the Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho Gaúcho got mingled unknowingly in a fraudulent crypto pyramid scheme that got busted. Reports further revealed that victims filed a lawsuit against the company demanding a whopping $61 million for damages.
The shady scheme dubbed “18KRonaldinho” promised unsuspecting investors a daily return of 2% on their crypto deposits. This led to the retired pro football player being summoned by Brazil’s Congress severally.
While Ronaldinho failed to appear in two previous hearings related to the crypto scam investigation, he finally attended the Brazil Congressional hearing held on August 31 to evade penalties.
During the inquiry session led by Aureo Ribeiro, the Brazil football legend denied being part of the alleged $61M crypto scam, upholding that he was never in partnership with the said company.
According to him, his image was used without his knowledge and approval to promote the fraudulent scheme. Notably, an advert for the scheme was shown during the hearing, containing an image of Ronaldinho with an inscription : “Your money yielding up to 2% a day.” (translated)
Reacting to the advert, he noted that the image used was taken in July 2019 when he signed a deal with the company’s subsidiary firm specialized in luxury watches. To further exonerate himself, Ronaldinho revealed that he was among the victims of the shady “18KRonaldino” crypto pyramid scheme.
Rising Crypto Scams
It bears noting that crypto scams have been on the rise over the years. Among the various means deployed by diverse cybercriminals to defraud unsuspecting users include impersonation, pyramid schemes and cryptojacking. Market participants need to be aware of these strategies to stay safe.
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