Alleged $165M Crypto Ponzi Mastermind Returns to US After Fiji Deportation

Edward Zimbardi is back in the United States after being deported from Fiji and now faces federal fraud and money laundering charges, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. On Monday, prosecutors said Fijian authorities deported Zimbardi on Friday in coordination with the FBI and the State Department. He was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles, while prosecutors sought his detention pending proceedings in Georgia. The indictment centers on a crypto scheme prosecutors say ran under the name “The Crypto Program” from June 2022 to August 2023. They allege it was sold as an advertising-package investment that promised guaranteed monthly returns of 25%. Thousands of investors allegedly sent more than $165 million in crypto to wallets Zimbardi secretly controlled. Prosecutors say the money did not go toward advertising packages. Instead, Zimbardi allegedly placed more than $34 million in risky foreign currency trades, used later investments to pay earlier investors, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses, including a house, luxury vehicles and alimony. He was indicted on July 8 on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Prosecutors also allege that Zimbardi fled to Fiji after learning of the FBI investigation and stayed there for more than a year. Cointelegraph also referenced a related case: former Goliath Ventures CEO pleads guilty in a $400 million crypto Ponzi case.