World Cup stars under criminal probe as crypto scam leaves investors empty-handed

In Spain, a high-profile investigation has been opened following a cryptocurrency project endorsed by top football players that is accused of defrauding investors of more than $3.4 million. The probe centers on Shirtum Europa SLU, which disappeared soon after advertising inactive digital collectibles tied to player image rights.

The six footballers named in the criminal complaint, which is now under consideration by the Fifth District Court of Barcelona, are World Cup winners and former Barcelona and Sevilla players. They include Alejandro Gomez, Lucas Ocampos, Ivan Rakitic, Javier Saviola, Nico Pareja and Alberto Moreno.

They are also accused of deceiving the masses by officially supporting Shirtum, who had no viable platform.

The case was filed by 12 alleged victims and reinforced by professional witnesses, which included a financial investigation by reputable economist Prosper Lamothe. Court filings allege that investors were enticed with the promise of exclusive NFTs and speculative profits, only to be stuck with tokens that ultimately failed to develop utility or value.

NFTs sold, platform abandoned

Shirtum sold its $SHI token as the sole way to buy NFTs linked to the personal brands of huge football stars. There were digital items that cost more than $500. However, since there was no support to trade or withdraw them from the marketplace, users could not. Court filings allege that the platform’s developers established a purposefully complex business model between Spain and Andorra.

The purpose, investigators claim, was to avoid taxes and protect founders against liability. The key protagonists of the operation are Argentine businessman David Rozencwaig and Catalan businessmen Manel Angel Torras, Marc Alberto Torras, and Manuel Morillas.

The appearance of the players as co-founders and the faces of the project on its publicity vaulted public confidence in the project. Papu Gomez reportedly played an essential role, using personal relations to bring on board other stars to popularize the platform. According to the complaint, after the downfall of Shirtum, the players deleted posts about their participation on social media.

In 2022, Shirtum claimed that company funds had been drained following a cyberattack, although police reports were never made. Investigators have since become suspicious that the said funds could have been diverted to personal use.

Omegapro tied to global football endorsements

Shirtum is not the first crypto-related program to feature football stars. A separate investigation published by El Diario shows that at least 20 current and former professional players are being sued due to their promotional involvement in Omegapro, an alleged worldwide Ponzi scheme that raised at least 3 billion euros in investor funds.

Omegapro promised 300% returns in 14 months on crypto investments and ran massive campaigns with sports celebrities such as Ronaldinho, Kaka, Luis Figo, Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Roberto Carlos, and Vinicius Jr.

Victim legal teams claim that celebrity endorsements were a critical factor in gaining trust and victimizing people around the world. Several football players are currently under scrutiny over possible deception of the masses through their linkage with unlicensed financial activities.

Crypto fraud landscape expands with celebrity and AI tactics

The Shirtum and Omegapro situation is aligned with a bigger trend of fraudulent crypto schemes using famous celebrities to lure investors. Analysts warn that sports influencers and celebrities, especially ones with massive followings among fans, are still exploited or eager accomplices in plans to remove the distinction between promotion and participation.

According to a recent study by crypto exchange Bitget, advanced scams are becoming hard to detect. According to the research released in June 2025, scammers stole over $4.6 billion in 2024. That is a 24% rise from the previous year, and nearly 40% of incidents involved AI-created deepfakes.

The report points to an increasing number of fraudsters using synthetic media to impersonate executives, generate documents, and construct fake identities.

Bitget CEO Gracy Chen noted that these scams are tough to spot due to the convergence of emotional manipulation and advanced visual trickery. She noted that currently, most platforms have a gamified interface, synthesized audit certificate, and social referral mechanisms to achieve viral growth. “Scams today aren’t amateur operations,” said Chen.

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