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Alleged $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme mastermind returned to US
Prosecutors say the scheme promised 25% monthly returns, with more than $165 million in investors crypto sent to wallets controlled by Edward Zimbardi.
Edward Zimbardi, the alleged mastermind behind a $165 million crypto investment scheme, has been returned to the United States after being deported from Fiji, putting him back within reach of federal prosecutors, according to CryptoSlate. A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted Zimbardi on July 8 on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said. Prosecutors allege he ran The Crypto Program from June 2022 through August 2023, selling advertising packages that promised investors guaranteed monthly returns of 25%.
Prosecutors claim thousands of investors sent more than $165 million in cryptocurrency to wallets secretly controlled by Zimbardi. Instead of using the funds as advertised, prosecutors allege Zimbardi directed more than $34 million into high-risk foreign currency trading, used money from newer investors to pay earlier participants, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses, including luxury vehicles and alimony payments.
CryptoSlate reports that California regulators took action while the operation was active, ordering The Crypto Program in June 2023 to stop offering the investment packages. The state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said the products were unqualified securities and that investors were given materially misleading information. Zimbardi was reportedly scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles on Aug. 17, with prosecutors seeking detention, as the international phase of the case concludes.