Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 | 6:50 p.m.
Two people were arrested Friday in connection with a Las Vegas-based investment scheme that bilked hundreds of victims out of $3.2 million.
Leticia Castro and Jimmy Matute were arrested by federal authorities Friday on conspiracy and wire fraud charges, court records show.
An FBI investigation revealed that Castro and Matute set up the investment company GrupoMex in 2008 to lure people across the globe into giving them millions with promises of high return rates with little to no risk of failure.
But after receiving clients' funds, Castro and Matute transferred the money into their personal bank accounts instead of using the money to generate the investment returns they promised, court records show.
One unnamed victim from Cyprus reportedly wired GrupoMex nearly $1.4 million from his Swiss bank account and never recovered it. Castro and Matute allegedly held a Skype session with the victim to tell him that his money had been used to pay off personal loans.
Castro was released from federal custody on Monday on a personal recognizance bond. She was ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device as a condition of her release.
U.S. District Judge George Foley Jr. deemed Matute a flight risk and ordered him to remain behind bars pending trial.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 6.
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