FBI Arrests a Fraudster Over $43M Crypto Fraud and Las Vegas-Related Ponzi Scheme

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a New York resident for allegedly masterminding a crypto Ponzi scheme.

The alleged fraudster fronted the Ponzi scheme as a Las Vegas-related hospitality project to unsuspecting investors. The culprit used the large-scale scheme to defraud investors of about $43 million in crypto.

FBI Arrests Fraudster for Crypto Ponzi Scheme

The US Attorney's Office released a statement on May 1 regarding the arrest of Manhattan man Idin Dalpour. According to the details, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, and the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI, James Smith, made the arrest.

According to the officials, Dalpour claimed to own an entity that invests in a Las Vegas hospitality venture and a crypto trading enterprise.

Dalpour deceived investors by promising huge returns on both ventures. He allegedly used a business entity under his control to beseech investments. However, his actions falsely represented the business's interests in the crypto and hospitality sectors.

Additionally, he fronted a process of buying crypto assets at wholesale and reselling them to retail investors for profits. Dalpour amassed up to $43 million through his sophisticated scheme, but he never invested the funds in the touted businesses.

Fraudster Flaunts High Annual Returns to Attract Investors

Part of Dalpour's scheme's selling point is its whopping 42% annual returns to the investors. He included forged insurance and escrow arrangements as safety assurances for their funds.

Dalpour operated a Ponzi scheme by paying earlier investors the promised returns with money from subsequent people who joined the scheme.

Moreover, Dalpour never channeled the investors' funds to any crypto investment as he promised. According to Attorney Williams, Dalpour used the money to maintain a lavish lifestyle instead of investing it as promised.

He engaged in several gambling activities, which led to a loss of approximately $1.7 million. He also used part of the investors' funds to pay private school tuition for his children.

Dalpour's dubious activities crashed when a group of victims confronted him in November 2023. The fraudster owned up to his dubious acts and even told them they could arrest him. Dalpour has been charged with one count of wire fraud, which could result in a 20-year jail sentence.

Besides Dalpour, similar crypto-related Ponzi schemes have been reported. Moreover, the US authorities arrested a few people involved in such cases.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uncovered a $300 million Ponzi Scheme on March 15. The scheme operated under a crypto trading platform known as CryptoFX.

Moreover, the scheme targeted investors within the US Latino community and the other two countries.

Also in March, a New York jury convicted two people for promoting IcomTech, a fake crypto mining and trading scheme. The trial lasted for two weeks, and the fraudsters faced a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

The post FBI Arrests a Fraudster Over $43M Crypto Fraud and Las Vegas-Related Ponzi Scheme appeared first on The Tech Report.