Agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested the owner of Platinum Bay Capital Management LLC for operating a Ponzi scheme. Americo “Rick” Antunes is charged with racketeering. The arrest follows a joint investigation by FDLE, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Financial Crimes Taskforce and the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “This Ponzi scheme preyed on investors, ultimately conning six Floridians out of nearly $2 million. Working with state and local law enforcement, we stopped this scheme before more Floridians could be harmed, and now my Statewide Prosecutors will make sure the defendant answers for his crimes.”
FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said, “Victims, including a WWII veteran, trusted Platinum Bay Capital Management with their life savings. But Antunes was cold and calculating, luring them in with special tours, fraudulent financial statements and strict investment service agreements. His scheme was well-planned, and he stole between $25,000 and $1.5 million from each victim. Thanks to the investigators and prosecutors on this case, the scheme is over, and it’s Antunes who will now pay the price.”
OFR Commissioner Russell C. Weigel, III said, “Thank you to our investigators, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office Financial Crimes Taskforce and Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution for their diligent efforts in this case. The Office of Financial Regulation will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to protect Floridians and stop financial criminals in their tracks.”
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office began the investigation in 2021 and contacted FDLE after potential victims were identified outside Seminole County. Investigators say victims, customers of Platinum Bay Capital Management, gave Antunes money for investing, but he instead used the victims’ money to fund his lifestyle and to help fund an HVAC company he owned, Dash Pro Services, Inc.
To entice the victims to invest, Antunes invited them to tour Platinum Bay Capital Management LLC, where he pretended to have multiple traders working for him in several countries. Antunes stole a total of nearly $2 million from six victims, living in Seminole, Orange and Lake counties. One of his victims is a 96-year-old WWII veteran.
Antunes was arrested this morning at his residence and booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County on an $80,000 bond. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will prosecute the case.