'Generación Zoe': The rise and fall of Argentina's most notorious financial scam gets the Netflix treatment

Netflix has announced the premiere of El Vendedor de Ilusiones: el caso Generación Zoe, a documentary that narrates the origin, rise, and fall of one of the most extravagant and ambitious financial platforms in Latin America, led by Leonardo Cositorto, and the people who believed in him and lost everything.

The film, which premieres May 24, is the result of investigative work, multiple testimonies (Generación Zoe leaders, victims, and journalists), archival material and exclusive images that reconstruct the complex plot.

The official description for the show reads: "In a world where the pandemic has wreaked havoc, where everything is frustration and uncertainty, a man comes to revolutionize people's pockets and consciousness with a project that involves educational training, the financial universe, and spiritual development."

The documentary, produced by Anima Films and directed by Matías Gueilburt, also features exclusive testimony from Cositorto himself, who was detained and accused of massive fraud across the country and has been in prison since April 2022, facing charges in the provinces of Corrientes, Salta, and Rosario, and under investigation in several other jurisdictions.

It is estimated that Cositorto and Generación Zoe's fraud amounts to one million dollars and seven million pesos, but the total sum will probably be even higher once the investigation ends. Despite substantial evidence against him, Cositorto maintains that he "committed no crime and is unjustly detained." He defends himself by claiming that he obtained funds through high-risk crypto asset trading and stock market operations, yielding profits of up to 50% per month, and that nothing in his business involved unlawful enrichment."

The show marks Netlifx's latest documentary foray in Argentina after successful entries such as Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President, and the Spy(2019),Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta? (2020), El fotógrafo y el cartero: El crimen de Cabezas (2022), Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist(2022) and the most recent The Submarine That Disappeared (2024)