25 February 2025 , 11:08
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Douver Torres Braga, 48, has been charged with criminal offenses related to Trade Coin Club.
Braga owned Trade Coin Club but hid ownership by posing as its Master Distributor.
Trade Coin Club, or TCC, was an MLM crypto Ponzi that launched in late 2016.
Following initiation of a “TCoin” exit-scam in late 2017, Trade Coin Club went on to collapse in early 2018.
While TCC was active Braga, a Brazilian national, resided in Florida. After TCC collapsed Braga is believed to have fled to Brazil.
The SEC filed a civil fraud suit against Braga and three co-conspirators in November 2022. The SEC’s TCC lawsuit alleged theft of almost $300 million from consumers.
Braga stands accused of siphoning off $50 million in TCC investor funds “for his own benefit”.
A month earlier, on October 5th, 2022, Braga was indicted under seal by a Grand Jury in Washington. A bench warrant was issued later the same day.
On February 8th, authorities in Switzerland arrested Braga while travelling outside of Brazil. Following his arrest, Braga was promptly extradited to the US.
Braga made his initial appearance and arraignment in Seattle, Washington on February 21st.
As per Braga’s indictment, he has been charged with twelve counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
If convicted, Braga faces up to twenty years on each count. At his arraignment, Braga pled not guilty.
Looking forward, the court has scheduled a detention hearing for February 28th. On February 21st the DOJ moved to detain Braga, citing concerns he would flee, obstruct justice and/or intimidate witnesses.
As at time of publication there is no indication Braga’s co-conspirators have been indicted. Namely Joff Paradise, a US national hiding out in Panama.
So far only one of the defendants in the SEC’s TCC case has settled. Judgment against the remaining three defendants, including Braga, remains pending.
Stay tuned for updates as BehindMLM continues to track Braga’s TCC criminal case.