Manhattan Resident Arrested for Alleged $43M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Idin Dalpour, a Manhattan resident, has been accused of wire fraud in an alleged Ponzi scheme. The scheme reportedly defrauded investors of at least $43 million. Just last year, three individuals were charged in a similar case involving a crypto mining Ponzi scheme.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDYN) who has led many enforcement actions against criminals in the Web3.0 ecosystem said the criminal convinced investors that they could make massive profits by investing in a supposed Las Vegas hospitality business and a cryptocurrency trading operation.

His promises turned out to be nothing more than an illusion as he was running a classic Ponzi scheme, using money from new investors to pay off the supposed returns to earlier investors.

High-stakes gamble gone wrong

According to the allegations, the fraudster is said to have operated a Ponzi scheme from around 2022 until April of this year. His targets were investors both in the U.S. and abroad.

Instead of using the funds as promised, which were supposed to support a Las Vegas hospitality venture and a cryptocurrency trading business, he splurged on himself. His actions included gambling losses of around $1.7 million and paying for his kids’ private school tuition.

In 2022, the United States Department of Justice charged three perpetrators, one a former staff of Coinbase for a wire fraud offense.

Perpetrators brought to the book 

The US SDYN made it public yesterday in a press release after Dalpour got arrested yesterday morning. He’s set to appear in Manhattan federal court later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses.

During a confrontation with a group of people who were victims of his Ponzi scheme in November last year, the suspect supposedly made quite a bold statement along the lines of “Hey, you can put me in jail right now if you want. Whatever you already have, you have.”

If convicted, the perpetrator will be facing hefty punishment for his alleged actions, potentially looking at a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Many investors have unfortunately become victims of cyber attacks, and Ponzi schemes. In fact, back in 2022, it was reported that a staggering $7.8 billion was lost to crypto Ponzi schemes. It is a classic case of misappropriation and deception, and it’s causing significant losses for crypto enthusiasts and investors.