A citizen of Brazil appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle Friday after being extradited from Switzerland to face a 13-count indictment for wire fraud and conspiracy regarding his bitcoin investment scheme.
Douver T. Braga, 48, lived in Florida between approximately 2016 and 2021 during the bulk of the alleged fraud. The indictment alleges Braga operated a bitcoin investment scheme that was a Ponzi scheme and an illegal multilevel marketing scheme.
The grand jury returned the indictment in October 2022. It was unsealed last week following Braga’s arrest in Switzerland. On Friday, Braga pleaded “Not Guilty,” and a trial was scheduled in front of U.S. District Judge Tana Lin on April 28, 2025.
“Mr. Braga allegedly ran a fraud scheme that harkens back more than a century, but he updated his ‘Ponzi’ scheme with the hot new thing: bitcoin,” said U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller.
According to the indictment, Braga conspired with others to create a cryptocurrency trading platform called Trade Coin Club (TCC) with an office in Belize. As early as 2016, Braga worked with others to promote TCC, claiming that investors would make money because the TCC had a sophisticated software program that allowed investors to profit from the fluctuating price of bitcoin.
Braga also promised that investors could make money by referring other investors to the platform. In reality, there was no investment platform and no sophisticated software. Those who invested early were paid off by later investors, as in a Ponzi scheme.
Braga travelled the world promoting TCC: In Thailand in March 2017, Nigeria, and Macau in May 2017. TCC was promoted on social media and in videos. Braga claimed TCC had as many as 126,000 members at various events in 231 different countries.
Through his false promises of sophisticated investments and high returns, Braga induced tens of thousands of people to entrust over 82,000 bitcoins, valued at over $290 million at the time of investment, and to deposit it with TCC. Braga continued the false representations, creating an “online portal” where investors could track the supposed activity of their investment accounts.
The site was fiction, as there was no trading activity.
Braga withdrew and misappropriated investor funds. Between December 2016 and July 2019, at least $50 million in bitcoin was transferred to accounts Braga controlled.
However, by late 2017 and early 2018, investors had trouble accessing their funds. In January 2018, TCC announced to investors that it was ceasing to operate in the United States and was cancelling their accounts. Many investors were located in the Western District of Washington.
Braga allegedly profited handsomely, while failing to report the earnings to the IRS. In 2017, he received bitcoin worth $30.5 million but only reported an income of $152,298. In 2018, he reported $73,473 in income but got $13.1 million in bitcoin and in 2019, he reported $72,870 in income while he received $10 million in bitcoin.
“The type of scheme Mr. Braga is charged with operating is not new, he just used the allure of a flashy new technology to obscure the well-worn scam,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office.
Herrington added, “While the victims in this case waited and wondered about the fate of their investments, he siphoned off millions of dollars for his personal use. This case demonstrates the determination of the FBI and our partners in IRS Criminal Investigation to hold fraudsters accountable, no matter where in the world they may be.”
Braga is charged with 12 counts of wire fraud reflecting 12 wires investors sent to TCC for deposits in their “accounts.” Braga is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
