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US indicts South Dakota crypto investor in alleged $20M scheme
Prosecutors say the investor used new investor funds to repay earlier backers and laundered proceeds through crypto exchanges, affecting victims across South Dakota and Minnesota.
A federal grand jury indicted a South Dakota cryptocurrency investor on charges including wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft over an alleged $20 million investment scheme, the US Department of Justice said Thursday. Prosecutors allege Benjamin Paul Wiener, 43, persuaded people to invest money and digital assets through his companies by making false statements and other fraudulent representations. According to the indictment, Wiener allegedly used funds from newer investors to repay earlier investors, and then covered personal expenses after existing funds were depleted. The government also alleges he laundered proceeds through crypto exchanges. Wiener faces a 29-count indictment. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud, up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each wire fraud and money laundering count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year prison term for aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said. The alleged scheme affected dozens of victims across South Dakota, Minnesota, and the surrounding region, according to the indictment.