US DOJ indicts investor in alleged $20M crypto Ponzi scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted South Dakota investor Benjamin Paul Wiener on 29 counts related to an alleged $20 million cryptocurrency investment fraud, Cointelegraph reported. The charges include wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege that Wiener, through his company, solicited cash and crypto from investors by promising false returns. He is accused of operating a Ponzi scheme, using new investor funds to pay earlier ones, spending the money for personal use, and laundering some of it through cryptocurrency exchanges. The scheme reportedly victimized dozens of people in South Dakota and Minnesota. If convicted, Wiener faces up to 30 years in prison for bank fraud and up to 20 years for both wire fraud and money laundering.