On July 23, 2025, Spain’s National Police arrested Joaquin Garcia de la Brena, managing director of myWorld Spain, on pyramid fraud charges in Madrid, following a High Court complaint by 803 victims alleging €5 million in losses, per a July 31 police press release. Dubbed Operation Peldano, the investigation, launched in March 2023, exposed myWorld’s scheme, which lured investors with promises of “passive, recurring, and lifetime income” up to €50,000 monthly for a €2,000 initial deposit and €99-€399 monthly payments. Victims, unable to recover funds or promised returns, faced a “financially unviable” scam, per Spain’s Ministry of the Interior. Total losses from Lyoness, myWorld, and Cashback World in Spain exceed €52 million, per police estimates.
myWorld, formerly Lyoness Spain SL (renamed MWS MyWorld Customer & Retail Services Spain SL in 2018), operated a cashback and loyalty program that investigators deemed a pyramid scheme, per Reuters. Victims were incentivized to recruit others, with profits tied to membership fees rather than genuine retail activity, a model Norway flagged as illegal in 2018, per Cointelegraph. Garcia, a 13-year veteran leading myWorld’s Spanish operations, oversaw a network promising outsized returns, per his LinkedIn profile. The scheme’s collapse left victims negotiating fruitlessly for refunds, per El País. Technical risks included opaque Blockchain-based payment integrations, with no verifiable revenue backing returns, per Finance Magnates. myWorld’s 2023 European bankruptcy filing, under owner Hubert Freidl, signals deeper financial woes, per Crypto.news.
The arrest aligns with global regulatory scrutiny of pyramid schemes, like CryptoProgram and iGenius, and follows Spain’s 2024 bust of a $540M crypto fraud, per CoinDesk. Bitcoin ($114,635) and Ethereum ($3,553) remain resilient, buoyed by $3.6T market cap gains and SEC’s Project Crypto, per CoinPedia News. However, Altcoins like Polkadot ($3.56) and Pi Network ($0.34) face selling pressure, per BH News. myWorld’s downfall may redirect investor focus to regulated assets like BTC and ETH ETFs, with $588.6M and $71.2M in July inflows, per SoSoValue. X posts from @CryptoSlate warn of declining trust in loyalty-based crypto schemes, potentially boosting stablecoin demand. Trump’s tariffs and weak U.S. jobs data add volatility, per CoinoMedia, complicating recovery for fringe tokens.
Garcia’s arrest, reported as “JGB” in Spanish media due to privacy laws, is a cautionary tale for crypto investors, per El Mundo. Avoid schemes promising guaranteed returns, and verify platforms on CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s $111,000 support and Ethereum’s $3,541 are safer bets, per TradingView. Monitor SEC and Federal Reserve updates via @CoinDesk, as tariff escalations and rate cut odds (89.1% for September, per CME FedWatch) could sway markets. myWorld’s collapse, with Freidl’s social media silence since September 2024, underscores the risks of unregulated ventures. Stick to diversified, compliant investments, and don’t fall for cashback scams promising the moon.
