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Florida man arrested in alleged $328M crypto ponzi scheme

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Florida man arrested in alleged $328M crypto ponzi scheme

A Florida man accused of running what is arguably the largest crypto-linked Ponzi scheme involving $328 million has been arrested, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Christopher Alexander Delgado, 34, of Apopka, Florida, was taken into custody on a criminal complaint charging him with wire fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 30 years in federal prison. A criminal complaint contains allegations, and Delgado is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

According to a TRM Labs global report, pyramid and Ponzi schemes received approximately $6.1 billion in victim funds globally in 2025, a 49% increase from the previous year. The most recent case prior to Goliath Ventures involves Ramil Ventura Palafox, the CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), who was sentenced to 20 years for misleading more than 90,000 investors and draining over $62.7 million in funds.

Prosecutors allege Delgado served as president and CEO of Goliath Ventures, formerly known as Gen-Z Venture Firm, from January 2023 through January 2026. During that period, authorities claim he raised at least $328 million from investors by promising monthly returns generated through cryptocurrency “liquidity pools,” sometimes described as “guaranteed” or “low risk,” with contracts promising monthly returns of roughly 3% to 8%.

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Instead of investing the funds as represented, Delgado allegedly operated Goliath as a Ponzi scheme, using money from new investors to pay purported returns to earlier backers and to meet withdrawal requests.

The complaint alleges that the firm’s claims about deploying capital into crypto liquidity pools were false. According to court filings, investigators said blockchain analysis showed only about $1.5 million was sent to Uniswap, while the “vast majority” of investor funds were not placed into liquidity pools.

To build credibility and attract victims, prosecutors say Delgado relied on personal referrals, polished marketing materials, luxury events, charitable sponsorships and periodic payments marketed as returns. The court documents also revealed investors were shown account updates via an online portal that displayed consistent gains, but the reported “returns” were allegedly fabricated and adjusted to match promised rates.

The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Orlando. Law enforcement officials are asking potential victims to come forward as the investigation continues.

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Crypto World

Hong Kong Retiree Loses $840K in Triple Crypto Scam

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Cryptocurrencies, Fraud, Hong Kong, Scams, Social Engineering

A 66-year-old Hong Kong retiree lost 6.6 million Hong Kong dollars (roughly $840,000) in a string of three related crypto investment scams after repeatedly trusting self-proclaimed “virtual currency experts” who reached out via WhatsApp, according to Hong Kong police’s CyberDefender unit.

In a March 20 Facebook post, police said the victim was first approached in September 2025 by a scammer who cold messaged, claiming to be a “virtual currency investment expert” and promising steady gains if the victim followed his advice. The retiree then transferred $180,000 and deposited crypto into a wallet the scammer controlled, only to watch him disappear, prompting the filing of a police report.

The case shows how fraudsters can recycle the same victim through successive schemes that start with “guaranteed profit” pitches and escalate into offers to recover funds that have already been stolen.

“Life has no take two; but scams can have take three,” the CyberDefender team wrote, warning that genuine professionals do not rely on random outreach and that phrases such as “guaranteed returns” and “inside information” are classic red flags. 

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Related: How US investigators traced $61M in crypto tied to romance scams across wallets

Cryptocurrencies, Fraud, Hong Kong, Scams, Social Engineering
Hong Kong retiree loses $840,000 in triple crypto scam. Source: CyberDefender

Triple “crypto expert” scam drains retiree’s savings

The retiree then transferred $180,000 and deposited crypto into a wallet the scammer controlled, only to watch him disappear, prompting the victim to file a police report.

​Unwilling to accept the loss, the victim later searched online for another “crypto expert” who claimed he could help recover the missing funds, but then demanded $75,000 as a security deposit. After the victim paid, that expert also vanished.

In January, a third supposed specialist messaged the retiree on WhatsApp offering to reclaim both prior losses if the victim bought $585,000 in crypto and sent it to a specified address. Once the victim complied, that scammer disappeared as well, bringing the total losses over roughly six months to approximately $840,000.

​Incident falls amid rising Web3 fraud

The case lands against a broader backdrop of mounting crypto-related crime. Web3 platforms saw about $3.95 billion in losses in 2025, with state-linked hackers and weak key security driving much of the damage, according to security firm Hacken.

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Authorities worldwide have also flagged new waves of phishing and investment fraud, from the FBI’s recent warning over fake FBI tokens on Tron to India’s GainBitcoin probe and US efforts to forfeit $3.4 million in Tether tied to a multi-state investment scam.

Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences