Earlier today in Brooklyn federal court, Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, the co-founder and former CEO of Biscayne Capital, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon. Cortes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving a $130 million fraud scheme. His sentencing includes $3.4 million in forfeiture and $103 million in restitution to more than 110 victims.
The decision was announced by John J. Durham, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Kareem A. Carter, IRS-CI Executive Special Agent in Charge.
“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of Roberto Cortes’s criminal conduct in orchestrating a years-long scheme with his co-conspirators to prop up a failing business while defrauding Biscayne Capital investors and clients around the globe,” stated United States Attorney Durham. “Using illegal Ponzi payments...Cortes and his co-conspirators were able to disguise and perpetuate this scheme for years until Biscayne Capital finally collapsed under the defendants’ lies.”
Cortes and his co-founder Ernesto Weisson established Biscayne Capital in 2005 to fund South Bay, a real estate development venture they started in 2001. Financial issues in 2007 led to the misuse of investor funds through private structured investment products. Misleadingly marketed, these funds were primarily used to pay off debts, not for real estate projects, resulting in massive investor losses.
“For more than five years, Roberto Cortes and his co-conspirators lied to Biscayne Capital investors,” said Galeotti. “When Biscayne Capital’s debt spiraled with no hope of paying back its early investors, they concealed the scheme...resulting in more than $100 million in losses to investors.”
Carter commented on the case's complexity, stating, “Regardless of the complexity of the investigation, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents and our law enforcement partners will utilize their skills and unique authorities to hold bad actors like the defendant accountable.”
Weisson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2022 and awaits sentencing. Another co-conspirator, Fernando Haberer, is not in U.S. custody.
The government’s case was handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the Eastern District of New York and the Department of Justice’s Fraud and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Sections.
