It's one thing to find some spare change or a $20 bill hiding underneath your mattress, but it is a whole different story when you find $20 million in cash. This is exactly what happened in a Massachusetts flat after millions of dollars in cash was found stashed away in a spring box.
According to CBS Boston, authorities believe the cash comes from a pyramid scheme involving Telexfree. Telexfree is a company based in Marlborough, Massachusetts that tried to sell VOIP (voice over internet protocol) phone services. The cash discovered earlier this month by investigators who managed to a Brazilian man from New York.
The man has been identified as 28-year old Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, and has been charged with conspiring to commit money laundering. According to a report from BBC, a judge ruled Rocha to be a flight risk and has held him without bail.
The company was never able to amass that many customers and made most of its money from people who invested in them with the promise of getting paid for posting ads on the internet. New recruits were the ones who added more to Telexfree's revenue, and most of them were either friends or relatives of the investors.
The pyramid scheme was initially aimed towards Brazilian immigrants residing in Massachusetts, but authorities have reported that Telexfree has swindled more than 1 million people out of their money. The amount they have embezzled is reported to be at least $1.8 billion. The two men behind the pyramid scheme were arrested in 2014.
James Merrill, 53, and Carlos Wanzeler, 45, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The scheme was alleged to have operated from January 2012 until March 2014. The company then filed for bankruptcy in April of that year. Their assets were also frozen by securities regulators.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
