Weather 
A Florida man was arrested on federal charges related to an alleged cryptocurrency “Ponzi scheme” that defrauded investors of at least $328 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a release Tuesday that Christopher Alexander Delgado, a 34-year-old from Apopka, Florida, was arrested on wire fraud and money laundering charges. If convicted on all charges, Delgado would face a maximum of 30 years in federal prison.
According to the federal complaint, Delgado was the president and CEO of Goliath Ventures, formerly known as Gen-Z Venture Firm, and allegedly carried out the Ponzi scheme from January 2023 through January 2026. A Ponzi scheme involves paying purported returns to existing investors from funds obtained from new investors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the scheme involved Delgado allegedly soliciting victims to invest substantial amounts of money under what prosecutors described as false and fraudulent promises of monthly returns generated by cryptocurrency “liquidity pools.”
CRYPTO EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY BITCOIN MAKES ‘PERFECT RECORD’ FOR TRACKING DOWN CRIMINALS
Victims of the scheme, according to the complaint, were also induced to give money to Delgado’s firm through personal referrals, professional marketing materials, luxury events, charitable sponsorships, along with some monthly payments of the purported returns to establish Goliath’s reputation with investors.
While Goliath said it would place investors’ funds in cryptocurrency liquidity pools, the federal prosecutors’ announcement indicated that the funds were mainly used to pay the purported returns to earlier investors, return the principal of investors who requested it, as well to pay for extravagant business gatherings, holiday parties and luxury travel accommodations.
The U.S. attorney’s office said that Delgado used funds from investors he allegedly victimized to buy four residential properties that were each worth between $1.15 million and $8.5 million.
PHILADELPHIA MEN REPEATEDLY TRAVELED TO MINNEAPOLIS TO CARRY OUT $3.5M HOUSING FRAUD SCHEME: DOJ
Victims who have been identified by law enforcement will receive a notice of their rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
The announcement by the prosecutors’ office also indicated that victims who haven’t received such a notice may reach out to the IRS through a dedicated contact email for Goliath victims, while the Department of Justice also has a webpage with information about how victims may self-identify themselves to law enforcement working the case.
SEC CHAIRMAN WARNS OF CHINA-LINKED RAMP-AND-DUMP ACTIVITY
Criminal complaints and charges are merely allegations that a defendant has broken the law, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
