Until a few months ago, a 27-year-old El Paso resident named Abner was living a “crazy life,” filled with expenses worthy of a Maharajah of India — with diamonds, racehorses, a Lamborghini and luxury properties. Alejandro Tinoco.
With 212 investors who believed he was investing their money in high-yielding cryptocurrencies and currencies, Tinoco rented an office in one of El Paso’s most iconic buildings, The Mills, which is adjacent to the San Jacinto Plaza. Looks at
In fact, Tinoco ran a scam known as a Ponzi scheme—or “pyramid”—in which he used money from his investors to pay interest and live the high life, until the situation became unsustainable. And he got jailed.
Despite having a criminal record for drug trafficking, Tinoco celebrated one year in September 2021 with his company, Kikit & Mess, named after his pet.
In June of that year, he acquired three luxury homes in some transactions that included his wife, Zoe Rachel Hackett, according to a federal court-supervised page that seeks to sell the assets to restore defrauded customers. Is.
Apart from houses, different goods were identified in the super luxury category for Tinoco.
These include a 2018 Lamborghini car that was given to a jeweler in Beverly Hills in exchange for a diamond. Also, other cars like the Bentley Continental GT 202, a McLaren 600LT and a Lexus IS 200T.
Two horses were also included: one of the American Paint breed named Velvet Jack, and another, a quarter horse, named The Perfect Pair.
Gold and diamond jewelry worth $20,000 and several high-end designer watches were found in his possession, which turned out to be fake.
Of the approximately $9 million Tinoco accumulated in his business accounts, more than half was spent on personal expenses, including luxury cars, private jets, real estate, and jewelry. Tinoco perpetrated the fraud by providing part of the embezzled funds as benefits to his customers.
Tinoco could face up to 20 years in prison and restitution and a maximum fine of $250,000 for each charge. The date of sentencing has not yet been fixed. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering United States sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.
In a separate civil case stemming from the above scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a civil consent decree against Tinoco and its business, imposing related restrictions on trading activities. The Justice Department will work to obtain restitution for any additional victims of Tinoco’s scheme.
Jaime Esparza, United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, and Jeffrey R. Special Agent in Downey announced.
The FBI is probing the matter. Assistant US Attorneys Shane Romero and Chris Schillern are prosecuting.
