BROOKLYN, NY — The founder and former CEO of Biscayne Capital, Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for masterminding a massive $130 million Ponzi scheme that devastated more than 110 investors across the globe — including his own friends and family.
Cortes, 58, who once positioned himself as a savvy financial advisor and real estate mogul, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after pleading guilty in September 2023. On Monday, a federal judge in Brooklyn also ordered him to pay $3.4 million in forfeiture and over $103 million in restitution to his victims.
“For more than five years, Roberto Cortes and his co-conspirators lied to Biscayne Capital investors — including their friends and family members — about how they were using millions of dollars of their investments,” stated Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “When Biscayne Capital’s debt spiraled with no hope of paying back its early investors, they concealed the scheme by using new and existing investor funds to pay off other investors, resulting in more than $100 million in losses to investors. The sentence will hold Cortes accountable for his years of lies and deception.”
“Regardless of the complexity of the investigation, IRS-CI special agents and our law enforcement partners will utilize their skills and unique authorities to hold bad actors like the defendant accountable,” stated IRS-CI Executive Special Agent in Charge Carter. “This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions. Mr. Cortes and his co-conspirators prioritized their own greed, stealing $155 million from investors. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that we remain vigilant and will vigorously pursue those who attempt to enrich themselves through fraudulent means.”
A Ponzi Scheme Hidden Behind Luxury Real Estate
According to court documents, Cortes co-founded Biscayne Capital in 2005 alongside co-defendant Ernesto Heraclito Weisson Pazmino. The firm, while publicly branded as a global financial advisory service, was actually a front for propping up the founders’ struggling South Bay real estate development business, which aimed to build luxury homes by acquiring and demolishing existing properties.
When South Bay faltered in 2007, Cortes and Weisson turned to deception to keep their empire afloat. They lured in new investors under false pretenses, claiming their funds would be used for profitable real estate ventures. In reality, the bulk of those funds went toward paying earlier investors—classic Ponzi scheme behavior designed to give the illusion of success while hiding financial collapse.
“These were not faceless investors,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “They were clients, friends, even family members—people who trusted Cortes, only to be lied to and defrauded.”
Elaborate Lies and Fake Statements
Cortes and his team created an intricate web of lies to prolong the scheme:
- They issued false investment documents misrepresenting risk, security, and potential returns.
- They distributed fake account statements to reassure clients their investments were safe.
- They hid the crumbling financial reality behind layers of fraudulent paperwork and off-the-books transactions.
The deception worked — for a while. By the time Biscayne Capital collapsed into liquidation, investors had lost over $155 million.
Cortes’s arrest and extradition from Spain were made possible through international cooperation involving authorities from the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Ecuador, Switzerland, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
“This was a brazen scheme of staggering proportions,” said Kareem A. Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “The message is clear: complex white-collar crimes will be unraveled, and those responsible will be held to account.”
“This sentence reflects the seriousness of Roberto Cortes’s conduct,” said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham. “He deceived, stole, and manipulated — and now he will serve time for it.”
More than 110 investors — many of them retirees, small business owners, and international clients — were left financially devastated. Monday’s sentence represents a step toward justice for those victims.
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