Venezuelan authorities have arrested Rosa María González, a key figure in the collapse of Argentine crypto firm Generación Zoe, nearly four years after the scandal left tens of thousands of investors defrauded.
González, 30, was taken into custody in San Cristóbal, Táchira state, following an Interpol operation.
González is accused of fleeing Argentina with 611 Bitcoin, worth roughly $56 million today. She had spent years evading authorities, reportedly moving between apartments in Buenos Aires with private security before crossing into Venezuela, according to local reports.
Her arrest comes almost exactly one year after Leonardo Cositorto, the founder of Generación Zoe, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Generación Zoe promised investors unusually high returns, claiming to use proprietary trading algorithms with so-called “quantum security.” In reality, investigators say the company operated a classic Ponzi scheme, paying older investors with funds from new participants.
González reportedly introduced Cositorto to the trading algorithms that became the centerpiece of the fraud. In promotional videos, she claimed the algorithms could generate monthly returns of up to 70%.
Consistent crypto crime
After the firm collapsed in the middle of 2022, González reportedly remained active in the crypto world trying to work up some new schemes.
Sources say she attempted to launch a new scheme targeting Argentine investors, promising 5% monthly returns on stakes of $1,000 or more, using crypto transactions through companies supposedly based in the United Kingdom.
She allegedly funded former associates in Venezuela to recruit investors and manage the new project. Early reports suggest the plan defrauded at least a dozen individuals, totaling roughly $300,000.
Extraditing González to Argentina is expected to be difficult. Argentina severed diplomatic ties with Venezuela in 2024, and no embassy currently operates in Caracas.
Brazil, which had been managing diplomatic affairs, recently withdrew, leaving no country in charge of Argentine interests. Interpol officials told local media that sending federal police into Venezuela is not safe, complicating any repatriation.
Cositorto has called on González to cooperate, expressing hope that her testimony could help recover some of the defrauded funds.
Sources close to the case say González may have been pressured or manipulated into some of the fraudulent activities, though investigators remain focused on her direct role in orchestrating scams.
DLNews reporting provided background information for this article.