USI-Tech co-founder Horst Jicha has been arrested in Florida.
Jicha was indicted beneath seal on August twenty third, 2023.
On December twenty first, the DOJ filed a movement searching for restricted unsealing of Jicha’s indictment.
The acknowledged cause for the request was
for the restricted objective of disclosure to and by regulation enforcement personnel, together with international authorities and the Worldwide Legal Police Group (“INTERPOL”), to be used in finding or arresting the defendant.
On December twenty sixth, the courtroom ordered Jicha’s indictment be unsealed to the general public. Information of Jicha’s arrest in Florida broke a couple of hours in the past.
As reported by Local10, Jicha (proper)
was booked into the Broward County jail Friday on a U.S. Marshals maintain and was now not listed in native jail information as of Wednesday morning.
Jicha, a German nationwide with ties to Brazil and Spain, seems to have been arrested inside 24 hours of his indictment being initially unsealed for regulation enforcement.
Jicha’s indictment cites USI-Tech co-founders Ralf Gold (proper) and Joao Severino as co-conspirators.
We will’t affirm for certain but however Gold and Severino are assumed to have been indicted alongside Jicha.
Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 2, people whose identities are identified to the Grand Jury, had been executives of USI-Tech.
As at time of publication, each Gold and Severino stay at massive.
USI-Tech itself was an MLM Ponzi scheme launched in 2016. The unique mannequin used foreign currency trading as a ruse.
That lasted a couple of 12 months, prompting a cryptocurrency reboot in July 2017.
Following regulatory fraud warnings from British Columbia, Texas, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Manitoba, USI-Tech collapsed for a second time in December 2017.
This prompted a 3rd reboot, this time constructed round a “Tech Coin” ICO. USI-Tech would go on to fully collapse a month later in January 2018.
In a January twenty second, 2018 advertising video, Jicha claimed “USI-Tech by no means did something unlawful in america”. Shortly thereafter, Jicha stopped speaking with USI-Tech victims and went into hiding.
Jicha’s indictment cites him as CEO of USI-Tech, a Ponzi scheme that defrauded shoppers out of “roughly 1774 bitcoin” (price ~$94 million on the time of Jicha’s indictment).
Along with USI-Tech’s co-founders, an “an American USI-Tech distributor” can also be cited in Jicha’s indictment.
Particular person 1, a person whose identification is understood to the Grand Jury, was an American USI-tech distributor who made quite a few in-person and on-line displays selling USI-Tech alongside defendant Horst Jicha.
Promotion of USI-Tech was headed up by Mike Kiefer.
Along with being a German nationwide, Kiefer additionally reported died again in August (I do know that’s the identical date the USI-Tech indictments had been filed however I’m chalking that as much as a coincidence for now).
Both means we are able to rule Kiefer out because the “American USI-Tech distributor” cited in Jicha’s indictment.
Notable US nationals who promoted USI-Tech embrace Dan Hunt, Rodney Burton, Religion Sloan and Frank Calabro Jr.
Jicha’s indictment goes on to additional slender down the cited American USI-Tech distributor.
In or about August 2017, USI-Tech held a “USA Kickoff” at a lodge and on line casino in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, attended by USI-Tech buyers and potential buyers.
The defendants Horst Jicha, Co-Conspirator 1 and Particular person 1 all spoke on the occasion.
In the course of the occasion, Jicha and Particular person 1 assured the viewers that USI-TEch was authorized and was not a “rip-off” or a “Ponzi scheme”.
Particular person 1, with Jicha standing by his facet, informed the viewers, “Actually, now we have been on the telephone for hundred of hours, spent I don’t even understand how a lot cash, to ensure that every little thing is totally authorized within the U.S.”
Particular person 1 defined, “Horst and I went across the nation and we searched out and located the very prime SEC lawyer … within the nation. The very, very, greatest and the very, very prime.”
Jicha and Particular person 1 then confirmed the viewers excerpts of an opinion letter written by this “very prime SEC lawyer”, purportedly verifying the legality of USI-Tech.
Whereas USI-Tech had obtained an opinion letter from an lawyer, this presentation misled the viewers concerning the scope, breadth and premise of the authorized opinion, and supplied false assurances concerning the legality of the corporate’s operations.
As documented by BehindMLM, the cited USI-Tech authorized opinion was from the regulation agency Hart & David.
The doc amounted to Hart & David rubber-stamping securities fraud. Maybe tellingly, Hart & David don’t exist anymore.
Extra importantly, footage of the occasion continues to be out there and divulges “Particular person 1” is Dan Hunt.
Dan and spouse Patti Hunt used the cash they stole by means of USI-Tech to fund “RV life” retirement.
The newest episode of the Hunts’ RV Life podcast was uploaded on December twenty seventh, 2023.
It’s unclear whether or not Dan and Patti Hunt are dealing with any USI-Tech associated prices.
Getting again to Jicha’s indictment, filed within the Jap District of New York;
Starting in or across the Spring of 2017, Horst Jicha and his co-conspirators started aggressively selling USI-Tech in america.
Jicha and his co-conspirators promoted USI-Tech each on-line and thru in-person displays that occurred in america and focused U.S. buyers, together with buyers situated within the Jap District of New York.
Jicha’s indictment prices him with
- one depend of securities fraud conspiracy
- one depend of securities fraud
- one depend of wire fraud conspiracy and
- one depend of cash laundering conspiracy
Forfeiture of Jicha’s USI-Tech ill-gotten positive aspects can also be sought.
BehindMLM is now monitoring Jicha’s USI-Tech legal case. Keep tuned for updates, together with any information on Ralf Gold and Joao Severino.