Riccardo Spagni, the co-founder and former primary developer of the cryptocurrency, Monero has been charged with 378 counts of fraud and forgery by the South African Government. Spagni is reported to have defrauded a former employer of over $93,500 (1.4 million Rand)
Spagni, who is also known as “Fluffypony” stepped down from his position with Monero in December 2019 after five years with the company but is now haunted by crimes allegedly committed between October 2009 and June 2011.
The case against Spagni dates back to his time with the baked goods company known as Cape Cookies. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Spagni “fled” SA in March last year when he was expected to be in court for a trial date in the Cape Cookies fraud case.
A warrant was issued for his arrest on 19 April that same year when he failed to appear in person at the next routine court hearing.
In July 2021, Fluffypony was detained by US law enforcement officials in Tennessee at the request of the South African Government. He was intercepted on the way to a cryptocurrency conference in Mexico when his chartered flight stopped for refueling.
After being held for 60 days, Spagni was released pending an extradition hearing from a Tennessee court. His passport was seized and he was ordered to stay in Tennessee.
In an affidavit filed on May 25th 2022, the South African national “knowingly and voluntarily” waived his right to an extradition hearing in the United States and is reported to have requested the court to speed up his transfer to South Africa so that he may face the charges there.
Records filed in the case show that Spagni had just emigrated to the U.S. from South Africa and had purchased property in New York. His lawyers deny that he fled South Africa and claim that strict COVID-19 protocols are what hindered his travel to South Africa for his court date.
The Tennessee court ordered that he be handed over to South African authorities and when the arrangements are finalized, his surrender will be coordinated by the United States Marshalls.
The court released Spagni’s passport to his legal team allowing him to apply for a social security number indicating an intention to return to the US.
Spagni is accused of defrauding Cape Cookies and is suspected to have submitted falsified and inflated invoices while syphoning off the difference between the inflated and actual amounts to a bank account controlled by him.
Fluffypony insists on his innocence and has come out saying, “I am actively working with my attorneys on a way to return to South Africa as soon as possible so I can address this matter and get it behind me once and for all.”
Court documents submitted in May 2022 list the 378 counts against Spagni as 126 counts of fraud, 126 counts of forgery and 126 counts of uttering.
Spagni’s lawyers tried to have the charges removed from the record claiming these late submissions violate the due process safeguard but were unsuccessful.