The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to increase contempt penalties against Juan Carlos Reynoso, a central figure in the OmegaPro Ponzi scheme, from $10,000 to $20,000 per day, effective October 6, 2025, per court filings. Reynoso, arrested on June 30, 2025, faces trial for his role in the $1.3B fraud, which defrauded over 300,000 victims across 170 countries, per DOJ indictments. The motion follows Reynoso’s failure to comply with a January 2025 seizure warrant for 119.65 BTC, worth approximately $7.5M at current prices, per. Within hours of notification, Reynoso transferred the Bitcoin to another wallet, triggering contempt proceedings and a $10,000 daily fine from March 4, 2025, per. As of October 3, 2025, accrued fines total $2,060,000 over 206 days, with no stay granted by the court or appeals, per.
Reynoso’s non-compliance persists despite the absence of legal barriers, prompting the DOJ to argue for escalation to compel action, per. The court has set October 14, 2025, as the response deadline, per. Meanwhile, a joint status report filed September 30, 2025, details extensive discovery, including 263 GB of data and 1.5M pages of records provided to Reynoso and co-defendant Mike Sims, per. Both defendants requested a 90-day extension to review evidence, granted by the court, pushing the next status conference to January 8, 2026, per. OmegaPro, operating from 2018 to 2023, promised up to 1% daily returns on crypto investments but was a classic Ponzi, redistributing funds from new investors, per SEC and DOJ complaints.
The case underscores ongoing U.S. enforcement against crypto Ponzi schemes, similar to BitClub Network and Forsage, per. Reynoso’s actions, including the Bitcoin transfer, highlight risks of asset dissipation in fraud cases, potentially leading to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981, per. Investors should report scams to the SEC or DOJ and avoid unregulated platforms promising high yields, per. Bitcoin (BTC) prices, currently around $113,000, remain stable amid such news, per CoinMarketCap, but regulatory actions could influence market sentiment. Diversify into regulated assets like USDC or ETH ($4,100), with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000 support, per TradingView. Follow credible sources like @TheBlock__ on X for updates. The DOJ’s push for higher fines aims to deter non-compliance, potentially recovering assets for victims in this multi-billion-dollar fraud, per.
