Agents Seize $20 Million in Cash Stashed Inside Mattress: Federal Authorities

The staggering stash of cash is related to an international pyramid scheme that swindled nearly 1 million people, feds say.

If you’ve ever wondered what $20 million in cash looks like, the U.S. Attorney’s office has a photograph for you.

Federal authorities released an image this week of the staggering stash of currency stuffed in a mattress in Massachusetts.

Read: Cash Cab: Honest Boston Taxi Driver Finds Bag Stuffed with Cash, Takes it to Cops

Agents raided the Westborough apartment earlier this month in connection to a federal probe of an international pyramid scheme that has bilked nearly 1 million people, according to federal prosecutors.

Authorities say TelexFree Inc., an internet telecommunications firm, defrauded investors by using their money to repay previous backers. Co-founder Carlos Wanzeler has been a fugitive in his home country of Brazil for the past three years, prosecutors said.

Read: Cops Pull Over Unsuspecting Drivers and Give Them $100 in Holiday Cash

Aided by a cooperating witness, agents followed courier Cleber Rene Rizerlo Rocha after he arrived in the U.S. from Brazil, authorities said. Rocha was a runner for the Wanzeler family, prosecutors said.

Agents tailed him to the Massachusetts home, where the stockpile of cash was found hidden in a box spring, authorities said. Rocha was arrested for conspiring to launder money and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. 

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