Premier League star lost £1m to cryptocurrency and is desperately trying to get it back
Nottingham Forest midfielder Gustavo Scarpa is part of a group of unhappy Brazilian players who have lost millions of their own money investing in a failed cryptocurrency venture
Nottingham Forest midfielder Gustavo Scarpa has filed a lawsuit in Brazil to try and recover £1million he lost while investing in a cryptocurrency venture.
Scarpa joined Forest in January on a free transfer after his deal with Brazilian side Palmeiras expired. He has made eight appearances across all competitions for Steve Cooper’s side so far.
The 29-year-old had spent his entire career playing in Brazil, turning out for Fluminense and Palmeiras. It was while playing for Sao Paulo-based side Palmeiras that he and team-mate Mayke chose to invest in a cryptocurrency company called WLJC. According to a report by ESPN Brasil, Scarpa put 6.3m Brazilian Rials (£1m) into the venture, while Mayke forked out R$4.5m (£720,000). The duo were promised returns of between 3.5 and 5 per cent per month.
Those returns never materialised and after the company missed a deadline of August 19 last year to give back his money, Scarpa decided to file a lawsuit. He has filed claims with the 10th Civil Court of Sao Paulo against three companies who he believes are responsible for the loss.
Scarpa is seeking a full reimbursement of his money and a termination of the contracts he signed. The lawsuit asks that authorities “block and seize amounts deposited in bank accounts, movable and immovable property, financial assets allocated in cryptocurrency exchange agencies, stockbrokers, among other possible and liable assets”.
Nottingham Forest refused to comment when approached by Mirror Football.
Reports in Brazil suggest that Scarpa and Mayke are not the only players who have lost money investing in the cryptocurrency. Other players from Fluminese and Palmeiras have also fallen victim to the venture but are yet to file lawsuits in an effort to recover their funds.
While he is yet to comment on the lawsuit, Scarpa has spoken to Brazilian media about his situation at Forest. He was a regular starter upon his arrival in January at Forest but has since found minutes much harder to come by. He was left on the bench for recent games against Manchester City and West Ham and was left out of the squad completely for the draw with Everton last weekend.
“I was surprised because everything happened so fast, starting to play, having opportunities,” he told UOL. “Now, I’m having a little less, but I think it’s normal, everyone goes through it, I’ve been through it myself a few times in Brazil.
“The choice to come here was very much the fulfilment of a dream. And I’m a person who, you can tell even by my hobbies I have, I insist until I succeed. I don’t want to just get here, stay six months, say ‘I’ve had my experience and I’m going back to Brazil’, because that would be very comfortable. But what I seek nowadays is not comfort, in fact it never was.”
