Juicy Fields cannabis Ponzi scheme busted

The Malta Police collaborated with European authorities in the arrest of nine suspects behind the Juicy Fields Ponzi scheme that swindled hundreds of investors. 

Victims were promised good returns on investments related to medicinal cannabis, which was sold as a growing industry. 

On an action day carried out on 11 April 2024, over 400 law enforcement officers in 11 countries executed nine arrest warrants and conducted 38 house searches. 

Police across Europe also confiscated €4.7 million in bank accounts, €1.5 million in cryptocurrencies, €106,000 in cash and €2.6 million in real estate assets.  

Law enforcement also seized several luxury vehicles, works of art, cash and various luxury items, as well as large numbers of electronic devices and documents. 

MaltaToday was first to reveal in 2022 how several Maltese retail investors saw their investments disappear after the platform promising massive returns stopped operating, in mysterious circumstances.  

After being swindled out of thousands of euros, the victims had reached out to the authorities to investigate the case. However, since then, none of the investors who spoke to this newspaper were given any updates on the investigation by the Maltese police.  

In a press statement following the action day last week, Europol said that according to judicial estimates, the total damages resulting from fake investments in the advertised cannabis cultivation crowdsourcing platform amount to a staggering €645 million, but actual and unreported damages could be significantly higher. 

In total, an estimated 550,000 participants worldwide, most of them European citizens, were registered as online investors.  

Using bank transfers or cryptocurrencies, around 186,000 participants actually transferred funds into the elaborate Ponzi scheme active from early 2020 to July 2022. 

Replying to questions by this newspaper, the Malta police confirmed it assisted Europol foreign counterparts during the investigation.  

One of the scheme’s chief promoters Daniel Gauci, was based in Malta. Despite proclaiming his innocence and distancing himself from the allegations that surfaced in 2022, he served as Juicy Fields’ chief business development officer. 

Two years ago, Gauci had posted a letter on LinkedIn, presumably penned by his lawyer, claiming he had no knowledge of the scam, believed to be perpetrated by Juicy Field’s ultimate beneficial owners, who are said to be Russian and Colombian. 

“Mr Gauci did not participate in or have knowledge of the facts in dispute. In fact, both personally and through its representatives, his collaboration and cooperation are offered to the competent authorities, to the extent that it can contribute with respect to the events that occurred, the authors and the rest of the circumstances are clarified,” the letter that is still available on LinkedIn reads. 

“Given the will to cooperate and provide as much information as may be relevant to resolve the problems that concern so many people, we must highlight and insist in this petition as the intense harassment and threats that Mr Gauci and his family is receiving so far. Thus, we have the professional assignment to carry out and exercise as many legal actions as are appropriate against all those people who promote or commit illegal acts against our clients Mr Gauci and his family, who have recently been subject of serious and intolerable threats when no implication or participation relates them to what happened,” the letter reads.  

It was the last post on Gauci’s social media profiles, and he has not posted since.  

A Malta police spokesperson said they had no knowledge of any Maltese national being arrested during last week’s operation. 

“Investigations in collaboration with foreign counterparts are still ongoing, and therefore no further information can be provided,” the spokesperson said.  

The information was also confirmed by the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office, who said that to the best of their knowledge, no Maltese nationals were involved in the operation coordinated by the Spanish authorities.  

Questions to the Spanish police remain unanswered.  

Speaking to this newspaper in July 2022, victims had reported losing large sums of money.  

“My family lost over €108,000 through the scam. We don’t know what we can do,” one of the victims who spoke to this newspaper said. At least 40 other Maltese investors are believed to have lost their savings with Juicy Fields, filing criminal complaints with the police.  

Another victim who spoke to MaltaToday said they started off investing €1,000, on recommendation of someone who works in the Maltese financial services industry. When he convinced his wife and son to invest, the family ended up pouring €108,000 into the scam. “We lost everything. My son’s life insurance had just ended, and he had €30,000 in savings. He only ended using €5,000 – the rest have now been lost,” he said. 

Another investor invested €70,000. “I thought it was a legit company since payments were being transferred to a European bank in Cyprus (ISX) and apart from that, all the top official people were very present on social media and on news articles.” 

Victims who spoke to MaltaToday this week said they are yet to be contacted by the Maltese authorities on the outcome of the investigation.