Criminal Lawyers in Pyramid Schemes

Pyramid frauds and Ponzi schemes constitute one of the most destructive manifestations of the fraud offence of Art. 248 CP due to the quantitative magnitude and qualitative multiplicity of victims. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors not with the real profits of an underlying economic activity —which is non-existent or marginal— but with the capital contributed by new investors; the system requires constant exponential growth to avoid collapse. A pyramid fraud in the strict sense rewards mainly for recruiting new participants in hierarchical cascades, not for the sale of real products or services. The protected legal interest is the individual patrimony of each investor and, mediately, the collective trust in the financial system. Supreme Court case-law has consolidated that these schemes integrate aggravated fraud due to the mass-crime aggravator of Art. 74.2 CP when they affect multitudes and due to the amount when it exceeds €50,000 or €250,000.

The methods of commission have evolved over time. The classic Ponzi scheme promises guaranteed fixed returns far higher than the regulated market, raising capital from small and medium investors with promises of 8-15% annual returns or, in more aggressive versions, monthly. Illegitimate multilevel marketing (also called pyramidal MLM) disguises the scheme with the appearance of product sales whose main return comes from recruiting new distributors, not from real sales to end consumers. Pyramidal crypto-scams have multiplied the phenomenon: fake exchanges with invented profit dashboards, staking or yield farming platforms with impossible returns (3-10% daily), fraudulent tokens with fictitious whitepapers, and "rug pulls" where developers withdraw all liquidity after artificially inflating the price. Boiler room plots operate from international call centres aggressively pressuring investors with short-term sales closures.

The penalties are severe. Being typically aggravated fraud by concurrence of Art. 250 CP circumstances (amount over €50,000, abuse of business credibility, multitude of victims), the base penalty is 1 to 6 years' prison and 6 to 12 months' fine. When the total accumulated damage exceeds €250,000, the hyper-aggravated type of Art. 250.2 applies with 4 to 8 years' prison. The application of the mass crime of Art. 74.2 CP allows imposing the penalty in the upper half due to the number of victims, reaching 8 effective years. It frequently concurs with money laundering under Art. 301 CP (6 months to 6 years' prison) when funds move through opaque corporate structures, tax fraud under Art. 305 CP when taxes are evaded on defrauded funds, and corporate offences under Art. 290 CP for falsification of annual accounts. Patrimonial precautionary measures (seizure, confiscation) are crucial to preserve recoverable assets for victims.

The technical defense in pyramid frauds presents a singular complexity given the frequent concurrence of the victim-author intermediary figure: salespeople, team leaders or referrers who recruited family and friends without knowing (or without wanting to recognise) the fraudulent nature of the scheme. The defence is built on four consolidated axes. First, the doctrine of "error of type" of Art. 14 CP: the subject honestly believed in the viability of the business, excluding fraudulent intent. Second, the own victimisation of the intermediary: proof that the accused invested and lost their own capital, recommended the system to close persons (relatives, children, parents) and lacked profit incentive qualitatively distinct from any victim reinforces atypicity. Third, absence of financial training to detect the Ponzi nature of the scheme, especially relevant in victim-accused with modest economic profile. Fourth, the hierarchical disconnection from the ringleaders: the intermediary operated at several levels of distance from the defraudatory core and was unaware of the real operation. For victims, the strategy is the private prosecution with precautionary seizure of assets and international asset pursuit.

In current forensic practice, pyramid fraud proceedings concentrate on three scenarios: inherited classic financial macro-cases, pyramidal plots with crypto-assets and promotions of investment products by influencers without CNMV licence. Organic Law 1/2025 on Justice Service Efficiency, the EU MiCA Regulation 2023/1114 on Crypto-Asset Markets, CNMV warnings and consolidated Supreme Court case-law have reinforced prosecution mechanisms and victim protection. Recent doctrine recognises the criminal liability of influencers who promote financial boiler rooms without due diligence, especially when they receive commissions. At Alonso Sala, with 15+ years' experience and a multidisciplinary team integrated by criminal lawyers, accounting experts and forensic blockchain specialists, we undertake both lines of action: technical defence of the intermediary accused of necessary cooperation and private prosecution of victims with procedural strategies to identify ringleaders, seize recoverable assets and articulate the broadest possible civil reparation.