DOJ Charges Two in $650 Million OmegaPro Ponzi Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged Michael Shannon Sims and Juan Carlos Reynoso for their roles in a $650 million Ponzi scheme involving OmegaPro, an international investment scheme. Sims, 48, of Georgia and Florida, was a founder, strategic consultant, and promoter of OmegaPro. Reynoso, 57, of New Jersey and Florida, led OmegaPro’s operations in Latin America and parts of the United States, including Puerto Rico.

The scheme allegedly defrauded victim investors by making false promises of substantial returns and claiming that their money was safe. The defendants operated OmegaPro as a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, where investors were promised 300% returns over 16 months through foreign exchange (forex) trading by elite traders. Investors were instructed to purchase these investment packages using virtual currency.

Sims allegedly misled victims by vouching for OmegaPro’s trading performance and the skills of the hired traders, and by falsely advertising the safety of investment in OmegaPro. Reynoso allegedly falsely and misleadingly represented that OmegaPro was operating pursuant to a legitimate license and, at other times, that OmegaPro was not subject to any country’s legal rules. The defendants and their co-conspirators hosted lavish promotional events and trainings all over the world, including projecting the OmegaPro logo onto the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, to convince existing and prospective investors that OmegaPro was a legitimate enterprise that offered a path to wealth and a luxurious lifestyle.

The defendants also used social media to display their expensive vacations, cars, designer clothes, and watches. Through these misrepresentations, OmegaPro raised over $650 million in virtual currency from thousands of investors. After OmegaPro announced that it had suffered a network hack, Reynoso and others told victims that their investments were secure and that OmegaPro was transferring their investments to another platform called Broker Group. Despite these representations, victims were unable to withdraw money from either their OmegaPro accounts or their accounts at Broker Group, resulting in millions in victim losses.

The more than $650 million in funds raised from victims was first sent to virtual currency wallet addresses controlled by OmegaPro executives and then transferred to OmegaPro insiders and high-ranking promoters to disperse the funds and obscure their origins. Both Sims and Reynoso allegedly profited millions from this scheme.

Both defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, Sims and Reynoso each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. The FBI, IRS-CI, and HSI New York are investigating the case, with assistance from various international law enforcement agencies.

The DOJ has emphasized its commitment to prosecuting these bad actors and pursuing justice for their many victims. The FBI has stated that it will not stand by while the American public is defrauded, and the IRS-CI has highlighted the ruthless reality of modern financial crime. The case underscores the critical role of international partnerships in dismantling transnational financial fraud schemes that exploit global markets and victimize unsuspecting investors.

OmegaPro was established in early 2019 by Sims and others. The scheme collapsed in 2022. In 2024, Andreas Szakacs, the co-founder of the scheme, was arrested in Turkey in his involvement with OmegaPro. The DOJ's charges against Sims and Reynoso highlight the ongoing efforts to bring those responsible for the scheme to justice and to recover funds for the victims.