US Deports Man Accused of $165 Million Crypto Investment Fraud From Fiji

A man accused of carrying out a $165 million digital-asset investment fraud and fleeing overseas has been returned to the US.

The Block reported on Aug. 18 that Edward Zimbardi, who operated the digital-asset investment program The Crypto Program, was recently deported from Fiji to the US.

Zimbardi had been on the run for more than a year. He was indicted on Aug. 8 on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors allege that from June 2022 to August 2023, Zimbardi promoted The Crypto Program through videos and websites while falsely promising investors guaranteed monthly returns of 25%.

Thousands of investors are reported to have lost $165 million.

Prosecutors also allege that Zimbardi used more than $34 million of investor money for foreign-exchange trading and suffered substantial losses. He is further accused of running the business as a Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay returns to earlier ones.