The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the mastermind behind a $40 million Ponzi Scheme involving encryption has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Gate News bot message, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Dwayne Golden from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for participating in a $40 million Ponzi Scheme involving crypto assets.

The 57-year-old man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud and money laundering in September 2024.

According to prosecutors, Golden and his accomplices Gregory Aggesen, Marquis Demacking Egerton (also known as "Madi Egg"), and William White created and operated a fraudulent investment platform.

These platforms include EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin, involving the period from April to August 2017. These websites promised to provide investors with fixed profits through overseas crypto assets trading.

U.S. Attorney Nocera pointed out that these companies attract investors solely with promises of high returns from overseas Crypto Assets trading, but have not engaged in any actual trading activities. The defendants used the funds received from investors to pay early investors or diverted them for other purposes, which constitutes a Ponzi Scheme.

FBI Assistant Director Raya pointed out that these platforms raised over $40 million. After these eyewashes were exposed, the defendants attempted to cover up their crimes by obstructing federal investigations.

From July 2017 to March 2022, Golden, Argus, and White attempted to obstruct the investigations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the federal grand jury. Authorities stated that they destroyed key evidence and provided false and misleading statements to investigators.

It is worth noting that William White was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role. Meanwhile, Agerson and Egerton have pleaded guilty and are currently awaiting sentencing.

As part of the judgment, Golden was also ordered to forfeit approximately $2.46 million in illegal proceeds. The court will decide later on the amount of compensation for the victims.

Source: Cryptonews