MIAMI — Efrain Betancourt, Jr., 36, a Colombian citizen, was arrested last week upon entering the United States and charged with orchestrating a $66 million Ponzi scheme through his South Florida payday loan company, Sky Group USA, LLC. Federal prosecutors allege Betancourt lured hundreds of investors, including many Venezuelans, into the fraudulent operation with promises of extraordinarily high returns.
Betancourt was indicted on Sept. 12 on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and wire fraud. The indictment, which remained sealed until Nov. 18, accuses him of operating a scheme that used new investor funds to pay returns to earlier investors while diverting over $7.5 million for personal expenses, including a luxury wedding in France, expensive jewelry, a Miami condominium, and family vacations.
According to the indictment, Betancourt promised returns ranging from 24% to 120% annually on promissory notes, claiming investor funds would finance payday loans issued by Sky Group. These loans, he claimed, would generate interest to repay investors. In reality, prosecutors say, the company operated as a Ponzi scheme, with millions funneled into repayments to earlier investors and personal luxuries. Over 600 individuals are said to have fallen victim to the scheme.
If convicted on all counts, Betancourt faces up to 140 years in prison. His case is being prosecuted in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, where U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe emphasized the severity of financial crimes that exploit trust and cause widespread financial harm.
The FBI’s Miami Field Office and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) led the investigation, with assistance from the FBI’s South Florida Fraud Task Force and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC had already pursued a parallel civil proceeding against Betancourt, resolving that case in July 2022.
“Investment fraud schemes like this one can have devastating consequences for investors, many of whom place their trust and life savings in fraudulent enterprises,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office in a statement.
Betancourt’s arrest marks a significant development in a case that highlights the risks of high-yield investment promises and the devastating impacts of Ponzi schemes on communities.