A local resident was detained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a New York court on suspicion of masterminding an intricate Ponzi scheme that scammed investors out of $43 million.
Idin Dalpour was accused of fraudulent activities on May 1 by James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, and Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The charges included offering false opportunities for investment in a cryptocurrency trading business and a hotel venture in Las Vegas.
It is said that Dalpour used promises of huge returns to entice unwary investors, but this was merely a front for a massive Ponzi scheme.
As to the convictions detailed in the FBI indictment, Dalpour falsely represented the interests of an organization under his control in the hotel and cryptocurrency industries in order to solicit investments.
He said that he bought cryptocurrency at wholesale prices and sold it to retail investors for a profit as part of the cryptocurrency trading plan.
The promise of yearly returns as high as 42%, together with the promise of investment security from alleged insurance and escrow arrangements, lured investors in.
Dalpour is accused of creating emails, fabricating contracts, and forging bank statements in order to deceive investors into thinking that the business projects will succeed.
According to the FBI, the investor monies were instead embezzled to pay for Dalpour's children's private school tuition, meet personal costs, including huge gambling losses, and satisfy the returns due to previous investors.
Assistant Director of the FBI James Smith stated:
"The arrest of today demonstrates the FBI's commitment to upholding economic justice and making sure that no one's actions come at the expense of others."
In November 2023, Dalpour was approached by a group of victims, which led to the unraveling of his scam. Then, admitting the seriousness of his acts, Dalpour said, "[w]hat you already have, you have, you can put me in jail now. Like right now."
This is only one of several arrests made by US authorities in the past year related to Ponzi schemes and cryptocurrency.
the U.S. on March 15. Under the pretense of a cryptocurrency trading platform named CryptoFX, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) exposed a $300 million Ponzi scheme that was aimed at cryptocurrency investors from the Latino community in the United States and two other countries.
A New York jury found two people guilty on March 18, a few days later, of serving as marketers for the now-defunct IcomTech fraudulent cryptocurrency mining and trading operation.
Most recently, on April 4, Irina Dilkinska, the former head of compliance and legal for the OneCoin scam, which included millions of dollars, was sentenced to four years in prison after she admitted to her involvement in money laundering.
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae