Hayden O’Byrne United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida | The Florida Bar
Efrain Betancourt, Jr., a dual citizen of Colombia and the United States, has admitted to operating a $66 million Ponzi scheme through his payday loan company, Sky Group USA, LLC. The 36-year-old pleaded guilty on May 21 in Miami.
Betancourt, who was the Chief Executive Officer and sole owner of Sky Group, managed the company by selling promissory notes to investors. He and his co-conspirators claimed that Sky Group funded small-dollar, short-term loans to consumers. From January 2016 to March 2020, they raised approximately $66 million from over 600 investors.
Investors were misled about the use of their funds. They were told their money would be used solely for making consumer loans and covering business costs. However, Betancourt operated a Ponzi scheme by using new investor money to pay previous investors. Sky Group only generated about $12.2 million from actual consumer loans. Millions were spent on undisclosed sales agent commissions, while Betancourt misappropriated over $6.5 million for personal expenses like a luxurious wedding in France and lavish vacations.
Betancourt's sentencing is scheduled for August 14 before U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida; acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami; and Russell C. Weigel, III, Commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had previously conducted a parallel proceeding against Betancourt related to this investment fraud scheme, which was resolved in July 2022.
The investigation involved FBI Miami, the FBI’s South Florida Fraud Task Force, and OFR with assistance from SEC’s Miami Regional Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz is prosecuting the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Raemy Charest-Turken handling asset forfeiture.
Court documents are available on the District Court for the Southern District of Florida's website under case number 24-cr-20399.
