By Jay Weaver

A couple of years ago, Efrain Betancourt Jr. reached a settlement with federal regulators who accused him of using his payday loan business to swindle tens of millions of dollars from mostly Venezuelan-American investors in the Miami area, using the proceeds to pay for his European wedding, among other things. A Miami federal judge ordered him and his company to pay back more than $39 million. But since the settlement agreement that he and his company, Sky Group USA, struck with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the investors have continued to get stiffed, according to federal authorities. During the alleged “Ponzi scheme” that began in 2016, Betancourt spent $7.5 million of investors’ money for his personal use, including on his extravagant wedding at a chateau on the French Riviera, Caribbean vacations, expensive jewelry, a private plane and a luxury high-rise condo on Biscayne Boulevard, authorities say.

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