Latest news with #SkyGroupUSA
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Miami man who swindled millions from Venezuelan-American investors sentenced to 7 years
Dozens of Venezuelan-Americans who were swindled by a local businessman after investing tens of millions of dollars in his payday loan company poured into Miami federal court on Thursday. One of them, David Villanueva, said he entrusted his life savings to Efrain Bentcourt Jr., the head of Sky Group USA, which used investors' funds to finance high-interest loans. 'We went to therapy,' Villanueva told U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles, explaining that he lost 'the majority' of his $1.3 million investment in Sky Group. 'My whole family was affected by this. We considered going back to Venezuela because we found ourselves without any money.' Gayles punished Betancourt with a seven-year prison sentence — nine months more than a federal prosecutor recommended, following the former Sky Group CEO's guilty plea to a wire fraud conspiracy in an agreement struck in May. As part of that deal, Betancourt, a dual U.S. and Colombian citizen who was born in Venezuela and grew up in South Florida, must pay $8.3 million in a forfeiture judgment for the money that he pocketed from investors and used for personal expenses, including buying a Biscayne Boulevard luxury condo and financing his wedding at a chateau in the French Riviera.. Betancourt, 36, also will likely be ordered by the judge to pay back at least $23 million to hundreds of victims for their losses. In total, Betancourt attracted about 600 Venezuelans in South Florida to invest $66 million over five years into his business, which used the funds from new investors to pay off old ones before his scheme collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz called Betancourt a 'recidivist fraudster' who lied to investors, while defense attorney Sam Rabin argued that his client started his payday loan business with 'good intentions' before it turned into an investment scheme. 'To say that he's a serial fraudster is, frankly, unfair,' said Rabin, who urged the judge to give Betancourt a sentence of less than six years, to no avail. He suggested that about 40 investment victims coordinated a 'letter-writing campaign' to the court that seemed suspicious because of their similiar content — an accusation that Cruz strongly denied. Betancourt, who has not repaid any of his victims, appeared remorseful as he stood up in court to address the judge, saying he was ashamed of himself for hurting so many people. He pledged to pay them back. 'You deserve an apology,' said Betancourt, who drew support from his parents, a pastor and dozens of friends who attended his sentencing. 'I can only say that I didn't wake up in the morning and decide to break the law.' According to court records, Betancourt's company made about $12.2 million in consumer loans — far less than the $66 million Sky Group attracted from investors. Betancourt and other employees spent the rest of the investors' money on operating costs, sales agent commissions and personal expenses, according to a factual statement filed with his plea agreement. Betancourt has been in federal custody since his arrest last November by FBI agents at Miami International Airport, after Cruz argued he was a flight risk to Latin America or the United Arab Emirates. Three years ago, Betancourt and his company reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a parallel civil case. SEC lawyers accused him of using his payday loan business to fleece investors, and a federal judge ordered him and his company to pay back more than $39 million. But since the SEC settlement agreement, Bentacourt's investors have received nothing for their losses, according to authorities. Both the SEC and federal prosecutors accused Betancourt of operating a 'Ponzi scheme' that began in 2016 by selling promissory notes to investors with promises of double- and triple-digit annual returns. Some investors were paid back in part, but most were not, leaving a huge debt after Sky Group imploded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Betancourt's scheme collapsed when countless borrowers defaulted on their payday loans during the pandemic. His company, Sky Group, incurred a severe cash-flow problem and was unable to make interest payments on investors' promissory notes. A Miami lawyer representing three investors who won civil arbitration cases against Betancourt said he brought the investment scheme to the SEC's attention years ago. 'These were people who had given all or part of their life savings to Mr. Betancourt,' attorney Richard Diaz told Judge Gayles during Thursday's sentencing hearing. After Betancourt lost at arbitration, he refused to apologize to the victims. 'I took a professional offense to that,' Diaz told Betancourt's defense attorney, Rabin, during the sentencing hearing. According to the SEC and federal court records, Betancourt misappropriated investors' money for his personal use, including buying a $1.5 million condominium at Epic Residences on Biscayne Boulevard and servicing his personal Piper airplane. Betancourt was also accused of transferring at least another $3.6 million to friends and family, including his ex-wife, Angelica Betancourt, and to another company, EEB Capital Group LLC, for 'no apparent legitimate business purpose,' SEC officials said. That company's bank accounts were controlled by Efrain Betancourt and his current wife, Leidy Badillo. In a SEC settlement in 2022, EEB Capital agreed to pay $2.2 million toward the judgment against Sky Group and Efrain Betancourt. Angelica Betancourt argued that she only earned an annual salary of $60,000 from the payday loan company, according to court records. But in 2022, she also agreed to pay about $1.1 million toward the judgment against Sky Group and her ex-husband.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Miami businessman fleeces millions from investors for lavish French wedding and extravagant lifestyle
A Miami businessman who stole millions of dollars from hundreds of investors faces a maximum of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy. Efrain Betancourt Jr., 36, a dual citizen of the United States and Colombia, admitted in a plea agreement filed last week that he defrauded more than 600 Venezuelan-American investors in the Miami area out of approximately $66 million through his payday loan company, Sky Group USA. Between 2016 and 2020, Betancourt solicited money from investors, promising high returns from short-term, high-interest loans to consumers, but, in reality, only about $12.2 million was used for those loans. The remainder of the funds was spent on company operating costs, sales commissions and Betancourt's personal expenses, according to a factual statement submitted with the plea agreement, the Miami Herald reported. According to prosecutors, Betancourt misappropriated more than $6.5 million for his own use which included money spent on a luxurious wedding at a French château. The former CEO put the large sum of money toward the wedding on the French Riviera, Caribbean vacations, expensive jewelry, a private aircraft and a luxury high-rise condominium on Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami, according to the Miami Herald. As part of his sentencing, Betancourt is expected to pay $8.3 million in forfeiture - a figure that includes credit card expenditures, according to federal prosecutor Roger Cruz. Cruz also indicated that six additional wire fraud charges against Betancourt will be dismissed at sentencing as part of the plea agreement. Betancourt has been in federal custody since his arrest last November at Miami International Airport after prosecutors argued that he posed a flight risk, with potential travel ties to Latin America and the United Arab Emirates. The former CEO's guilty plea comes roughly three years after Betancourt and his company settled a civil case with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC attorneys accused him of using his payday loan company to defraud investors, and a federal judge ordered Betancourt and Sky Group to repay more than $39 million. However, according to authorities, investors have received no compensation since that judgment. Both the SEC and federal prosecutors described Sky Group's operation as a 'Ponzi scheme.' Betancourt sold promissory notes to investors with the promise of double- and triple-digit annual returns and while some early investors were partially repaid, most were not. The embattled businessman's fraudulent scheme collapsed in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic triggered mass defaults on the consumer loans Sky Group issued, causing a severe cash-flow shortage and halting investor payouts. 'He never paid a dime to resolve the claims,' Miami attorney Richard Diaz, who represents three victims of the scheme, said. 'My clients and I are looking forward to personally attending his sentencing to express to the judge the gravity of his greed and fraud, which economically devastated, not just hurt, many families.' According to court documents, Betancourt funneled millions in fraudulent proceeds to family members and associates. Cruz wrote that 'millions of dollars in fraudulent proceeds directly obtained by this defendant have disappeared, were funneled by him to his wife and other family members, and have otherwise been transferred overseas.' The SEC also reported that Betancourt transferred at least $3.6 million to individuals including his ex-wife, Angelica Betancourt and to EEB Capital Group LLC - a company whose bank accounts were controlled by Betancourt and his current wife, Leidy Badillo. The transfers were described as having 'no apparent legitimate business purpose,' In 2022, EEB Capital agreed to pay $2.2 million toward the judgment against Sky Group and Betancourt. Angelica Betancourt, who reported a $60,000 salary from Sky Group, also agreed to pay approximately $1.1 million toward the settlement. Angelica Betancourt, who reported a $60,000 salary from Sky Group, also agreed to pay approximately $1.1 million toward the settlement. Betancourt's sentencing hearing is set for August 14 before US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles where he faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Miami man pleads guilty to stealing millions from Venezuelans for wedding at French chateau
A Miami businessman who stole millions of dollars from hundreds of investors — spending some of the money on a luxurious wedding at a chateau in France — faces about eight years in prison at his sentencing in August after pleading guilty to a wire-fraud conspiracy. Efrain Betancourt Jr., a dual citizen of the United States and Colombia, obtained about $66 million from more than 600 Venezuelan-American investors in the Miami area that he churned through his payday loan company, Sky Group USA, over a five-year period, according to a plea agreement filed last week. Of that total, his company made about $12.2 million in consumer loans, but he and other employees spent the rest of the investors' money on operating costs, sales agent commissions and personal expenses, according to a factual statement filed with the plea agreement. Betancourt, 36, who was born in Venezuela and grew up in the Miami area, pocketed more than $6.5 million that he spent on his French Riviera wedding as well Caribbean vacations, expensive jewelry, a private plane and a luxury high-rise condo on Biscayne Boulevard, the statement said. Betancourt, the former Sky Group CEO, will likely be ordered by U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles to pay a forfeiture of $8.3 million as part of his sentencing, a higher loss figure that includes additional credit card expenses, according to federal prosecutor Roger Cruz. He plans to dismiss six wire fraud counts in Betancourt's indictment at his sentencing. Betancourt has been in federal custody since his arrest last November by FBI agents at Miami International Airport, after Cruz argued he was a flight risk to Latin America or the United Arab Emirates. Betancourt, represented by defense attorney Sam Rabin, cut his plea deal in Miami federal court last Wednesday — about three years after he and his company reached a civil settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC lawyers accused him of using his payday loan business to swindle investors, and a federal judge ordered him and his company to pay back more than $39 million. 'Ponzi scheme' But since the settlement agreement that he and Sky Group struck with the SEC, Bentacourt's investors have received nothing for their losses, according to authorities. Both the SEC and federal prosecutors accused Betancourt of operating a 'Ponzi scheme' that began in 2016 by selling promissory notes to investors with promises of double- and triple-digit annual returns. Some investors were paid back in part, but most were not, leaving a huge debt after Sky Group imploded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Betancourt's scheme collapsed when countless borrowers defaulted on their payday loans during the pandemic. His company, Sky Group, incurred a severe cash-flow problem and was unable to make interest payments on investors' promissory notes. 'Never paid a dime' A Miami lawyer representing three investors who won civil arbitration cases against Betancourt said he brought the investment scheme to the SEC's attention five years ago. 'He never paid a dime to resolve the claims,' attorney Richard Diaz told the Miami Herald. 'My clients and I are looking forward to personally attending his sentencing to express to the judge the gravity of his greed and fraud, which economically devastated, not just hurt, many families.' Cruz, the prosecutor, wrote in court papers that 'millions of dollars in fraudulent proceeds directly obtained by this defendant have disappeared, were funneled by him to his wife and other family members, and have otherwise been transferred oversees.' Buys luxury condo at Epic: feds According to the SEC, Betancourt misappropriated investors' money for his personal use, including costs associated with buying a $1.5 million condominium at Epic Residences on Biscayne Boulevard and for service on his personal Piper airplane. Betancourt was also accused of transferring at least another $3.6 million to friends and family, including his ex-wife, Angelica Betancourt, and to EEB Capital Group LLC for 'no apparent legitimate business purpose,' SEC officials said. That company's bank accounts were controlled by Efrain Betancourt and his current wife, Leidy Badillo. In a SEC settlement in 2022, EEB Capital agreed to pay $2.2 million toward the judgment against Sky Group and Efrain Betancourt. Angelica Betancourt argued that she only earned an annual salary of $60,000 from the payday loan company, according to court records. But in 2022, she also agreed to pay about $1.1 million toward the judgment against Sky Group and her ex-husband..
