Authorities in america have sentenced a person to 97 months in jail for his position in defrauding traders out of greater than $40 million by way of a crypto Ponzi scheme.
Based on the U.S. Division of Justice, 57-year-old Dwayne Golden was sentenced on June 27 by U.S. District Choose William F. Kuntz II in Brooklyn federal court docket. Golden had pleaded responsible in September 2024 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and cash laundering.
Golden, alongside co-defendants Gregory Aggesen, Marquis Egerton (also referred to as “Mardy Eger”), and William White, operated three fraudulent digital asset companies—EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin.
Prosecutors mentioned these firms promised assured returns by means of abroad crypto buying and selling however as a substitute operated as Ponzi schemes, utilizing new investor funds to pay earlier traders or to complement themselves.
The scheme was lively between April and August 2017, and traders had been left with substantial losses after the operators shut down the platforms and disappeared with the funds.
Golden and his associates additionally tried to hinder federal investigations by destroying proof and submitting false data to authorities.
Between 2017 and 2022, Golden, Aggesen, and White allegedly conspired to hinder a Federal Commerce Fee probe and a federal grand jury investigation into the fraudulent operations. White reportedly acted on Aggesen’s behalf to offer deceptive statements in response to official subpoenas.
Golden was additionally ordered to forfeit $2.46 million, with further restitution to be determined later. Co-defendant William White has been sentenced to 30 months in jail, whereas Aggesen and Egerton are awaiting sentencing.
Victims have been suggested to submit restitution claims to the FBI as a part of the continuing restoration course of.
Golden’s sentencing provides to a string of current crypto-related enforcement actions by the DOJ in June. Earlier this month, the company moved to grab over $225 million in cryptocurrency linked to pig butchering scams.
In a separate case, the DOJ filed a forfeiture motion to grab over $7.7 million in crypto tied to North Korean operatives. Simply days later, the company additionally charged a Russian nationwide and founding father of a crypto funds agency for working a $500 million cash laundering scheme.
U.S. officers have signaled that aggressive enforcement will proceed as crypto-related monetary crimes are on the rise.
The FBI and DOJ say they’re dedicated to dismantling fraudulent operations and recovering stolen belongings for victims by means of continued worldwide cooperation and superior blockchain tracing methods.