DMG pyramid scheme mastermind accuses right-wing presidential candidate of theft and betrayal

David Murcia Guzmán has not been heard from much in eighteen years. The man who built DMG—a financial pyramid that bore his initials and swallowed the savings of at least two hundred thousand Colombians—had largely faded from public conversation. But this year's presidential race has pulled him back into the spotlight, and he is angry.

Murcia, now imprisoned at La Picota in Bogotá after serving time in the United States, has filed a formal complaint against the lawyer who once represented him: Abelardo de la Espriella, a far-right candidate now polling as one of the two strongest contenders in Colombia's mid-year election. In a lengthy interview with journalist Daniel Coronell, Murcia alleges that De la Espriella mishandled his defense, pocketed roughly five billion pesos—about 1.6 million dollars at the time—in legal fees, and abandoned him at a critical moment. "If this is how he's going to defend Colombia, God help us," Murcia said. "He is a thief, a traitor. He left me hanging."

The DMG scheme operated for years as both a Ponzi operation and a money-laundering front, promising investors exceptional returns on their capital. The operation collapsed in 2008 when the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez intervened following multiple reports of irregularities. Murcia was captured in Panama late that year and subsequently extradited to the United States in January 2010 on charges related to moving millions of dollars connected to drug trafficking. De la Espriella, for his part, initially echoed his client's claims that the government was persecuting DMG, but later insisted he withdrew from the case after discovering that the accounting records Murcia had shown him did not match what prosecutors possessed.

Murcia's account differs sharply. He claims he wanted to surrender to Colombian authorities in late 2008 while still in Panama, but that De la Espriella never communicated this willingness to prosecutors. Instead, Murcia alleges, the lawyer encouraged him to keep talking on the phone—ostensibly to locate him for kidnapping rather than lawful arrest. "There was never an Interpol request, never a capture order in Panama," Murcia told Coronell. "He was helping the government." Murcia also notes that De la Espriella's father was seeking a notary position at the time, a detail he interprets as evidence that the lawyer and his family received favors in exchange for cooperation.

The complaint itself was filed by Sondra Macollins, a lesser-known presidential candidate running on petition signatures. She appeared before cameras first, making the allegations public and framing them as a matter of professional integrity. Murcia's claims against De la Espriella include not only mishandling of the defense but also the payment of an additional seven hundred sixty million pesos—allegedly intended to lobby congressmen to block legislation regulating cash movements, the very currency DMG relied upon. Whether those funds were meant as outright bribes remains unclear.

De la Espriella has not directly addressed these new allegations, though his previous statements suggest he maintains that his withdrawal was justified. Murcia, however, remains unconvinced. He says that in private conversations, De la Espriella claimed government officials had threatened to kill him and his family if he did not comply with their demands. But Murcia found this explanation hollow, particularly since the lawyer never returned the money paid for his services. "He straight-up stole that money," Murcia said.

Murcia's decision to speak now, he explains, stems from fear for his own safety and that of his family. He describes De la Espriella and those around him as people willing to do anything to maintain power. Even after two decades, Murcia insists that DMG was fulfilling its obligations to investors and that the government's closure of the operation was unlawful. He argues he never had the chance to present his defense because his lawyer, as he sees it, remained silent when it mattered most—especially during the 2008 capture, which Murcia continues to characterize as an illegal procedure. The allegations arrive at a moment when De la Espriella's political fortunes are rising, forcing Colombian voters to reckon with questions about his professional conduct and his relationship with state power during a turbulent period.