Investing money repeatedly with the promise of easy, endless gains is a lure many fall for. It was the pitch of the businessman at the center of a dramatic case in Spain. Javier Biosca Rodriguez. Over the years, thousands of customers were drawn in by a promise that later collapsed once trust and funds were gambled away in a high profile cryptocurrency scheme based in Spain. Last Tuesday, Biosca was found dead in Estepona, Malaga. Police reported he fell from a fifth floor window.
Biosca ended his life amid a case that had many questions but few answers. An investigation has been opened against a 50 year old national figure who is alleged to have led a conspiracy that defrauded as much as 250 million euros from up to 3,000 customers by investing in cryptocurrencies. Authorities charged him with fraud, embezzlement, money laundering in public records, organized crime and bribery, among other offenses.
A lawyer representing about 300 victims described Biosca as a sociopath with charisma and the ability to persuade people, using tricks to attract those who were in need, especially during the pandemic, to whom he offered supposed solutions. The president of the Association of People Affected by Cryptocurrency Investments called Biosca an excellent profile of a scammer in a recent podcast.
family crime group
According to the complaint filed by the judge, Biosca began criminal activity in Fuensalida, a small town about 30 kilometers northwest of Toledo. In 2019, together with his wife and his son, Biosca built Algorithm Group, a London based cryptocurrency investment firm. Although Biosca had no formal authority and was not registered with the National Securities Market Commission, CNMV, he used this firm to persuade a wide range of people to invest in popular digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. He promised weekly returns of 20 to 25 percent, a lure that drew many investors.
In the early months, Biosca and his team delivered on these promises. The profits reinforced trust, and investors were eager to reinvest. When told they could withdraw or keep reinvesting to earn more, most chose reinvestment.
Biosca encouraged friends and relatives to invest, and word of mouth helped spread the scheme. The network grew gradually into a broader communication and investment web. In the first year it served nearly 500 clients, and eventually it touched around 3,000, most of them small investors.
Complaints of the affected
At the start of 2020, the situation changed as promises of high profits began to fade. Returns dropped to about 8 to 10 percent, and by October the scheme stopped paying what it had guaranteed. Biosca’s location often disappeared from public view.
Anger among victims led, in March of the following year, to a macro complaint filed with the National Court by a group of 300 people. This marked the first large class action over a cryptocurrency related crime, with investigators confirming that investors had been defrauded. An expert report found that Biosca and his family held a total of 1,532.55 bitcoins in their digital wallet, worth roughly 75 million euros at the time.
The National Court ordered the case be processed and assigned it to the Central Economic Crime Brigade and the National Police Forensic Prosecutor for investigation. In June, the judge in charge, Santiago Pedraz, issued an international arrest warrant for Biosca. He was later apprehended by the Civil Guard at a routine checkpoint in Nerja, Malaga.
Biosca remained in custody until last October, when he was released on a one million euro bail set by investigator Alejandro Abascal. The prosecution sought to trace the money’s origins. Biosca was prohibited from leaving Spain and required to appear in court every fortnight. His guarantor, Juan Antonio Zuloaga Bilbao, was ordered to stay in contact.
Witnesses reported Biosca fell from the fifth floor last Tuesday, a claim supported by the police. Yet the victims of the alleged scam were not heard, and many called for an autopsy to confirm the identity of the person who vanished with their funds. They argued that threats had been made and that Biosca may have been connected to criminal organizations that would pursue an investment through him, making the circumstances worthy of closer examination. They also urged authorities to thoroughly verify all aspects of this death.