crypto fraud2026-08-19 11:34:15Alleged $165M crypto Ponzi operator deported from Fiji to the U.S.A Georgia man accused of running a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme has been returned to the United States after spending more than a year abroad, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Edward Zimbardi, 59, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, appeared in federal court after Fijian authorities deported him to the U.S. on Aug. 14 in coordination with the FBI and the State Department. Prosecutors say Zimbardi promoted an operation called The Crypto Program between June 2022 and August 2023, offering advertising packages that supposedly carried a guaranteed 25% monthly return. Investors were instructed to send crypto to wallets he secretly controlled, and the government says thousands of people transferred more than $165 million. Instead of buying advertising, prosecutors allege he used over $34 million on risky foreign-exchange trading, paid earlier participants with funds from newer ones, and spent at least $10 million on himself, including a house for his son, luxury vehicles and alimony. He faces 12 wire fraud counts, 12 money laundering counts, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.510
crypto2026-08-18 03:21:26Alleged $165M Crypto Ponzi Mastermind Returns to US After Fiji DeportationEdward 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. Prosecutors say he promoted “The Crypto Program” from June 2022 to August 2023 as an advertising-package investment that promised 25% monthly returns, and that thousands of investors sent more than $165 million in crypto to wallets he secretly controlled. They also allege that more than $34 million was put into risky foreign currency trades, at least $10 million went to personal expenses, and that Zimbardi fled to Fiji after learning of the FBI investigation. He was indicted on July 8 on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of money laundering conspiracy.490
