Just how much money small investors around the globe have put into a shady offer involving cannabis plants is not yet known. But the damage is likely huge, with some estimates as high as several billion euros. The scam became apparent after investors were unable to access their accounts on a platform called Juicyfields.io.
Frozen accounts
Since 2020, the company Juicy Fields offered a service called "e-growing" where investors could participate in the cultivation, harvest and sale of medicinal cannabis. The company promised returns of well over 100% a year.
"People are just not used to making good profits anymore," Juicy Fields' then-corporate spokesman and Chief Business Development Officer Daniel Gauci said as recently as March when questioned by DW about the company's business model. He declined to provide details about how the company could generate such high returns.
The company's main tool was its online platform. There, users could buy and sell plants, manage them in virtual greenhouses and have their money paid out. However, recent developments called into question whether the plants ever existed.
Read more at dw.com