WIREDGOV

The National Crime Agency has arrested a senior staff member of a scam company, joining law enforcement across the continent to crack down on “JuicyFields” – a notorious and elaborate Ponzi scheme.

Ponzi schemes are a form of fraud, promising large profits with minimal risk. Instead of generating returns through legitimate business activities, the scammers use money from new investors to pay earlier investors, creating the illusion of a profitable enterprise. The scheme collapses when there aren’t enough new investors to sustain the pay-outs.

Investments in the platform are thought to amount to a staggering €645 million, though unreported damages could bring that sum far higher.

From early 2020 to 2022, more than 500,000 individuals across dozens of countries were registered to JuicyFields websites and offered promising crowdsourcing investment opportunities in the cultivation, harvesting and distribution of medicinal cannabis. Over 180,000 investors transferred funds.

In July 2022, those behind the scheme abruptly removed company profiles from social media networks and prevented users from logging into their accounts, thereby freezing cash withdrawals.

The NCA’s work was part of co-ordinated action across 10 countries.  

Huge numbers of police reports across Europe led to the establishment of a joint investigation team at Eurojust, led by Spanish, German and French authorities, and supported by Europol, the NCA, and policing partners from multiple Member States.

On 11 April 2024, law enforcement across the continent arrested nine individuals and conducted over 30 house searches. Over the course of the investigation, several millions of Euros in crypto assets and bank accounts have been frozen. Real estate properties, vehicles, artwork, cash and various luxury items have been seized, in addition to a large number of electronic devices and documents.

Officers from the NCA, joined by Spanish police, arrested a 42 year-old man in Atherstone, Warwickshire. He was responsible for paying salaries to staff members and helped to legitimise the company by attending industry events.

In a subsequent search of his house, officers recovered a number of digital devices, which will now be forensically analysed. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 April for the commencement of extradition proceedings.

Tom Barford, NCA Branch Commander, said: “Criminals like those behind JuicyFields are highly adept at identifying new and more sophisticated ways to target victims.

“In this case, individuals across the world were lured by the promise of high returns with little or no risk, and then faced with devastating losses.

“The NCA is one of many partners who joined German, French and Spanish authorities to take joint action, showing what we can achieve when we come together to tackle serious and organised crime.”

For more information on how to protect yourself from fraud, including ways to report it, visit the Stop! Think Fraud website.