Alleged $165M crypto Ponzi mastermind faces US charges after Fiji deportation

Prosecutors allege Edward Zimbardi collected crypto from thousands of investors, lost over $34 million on currency trades and spent at least $10 million personally.

Edward Zimbardi, the alleged mastermind of a $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme, was returned to the United States after being deported from Fiji to face federal fraud and money laundering charges.

On Monday, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said that Fijian authorities deported Zimbardi on Friday in coordination with the FBI and State Department. He was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles, with prosecutors seeking his detention pending proceedings in Georgia.

Prosecutors allege Zimbardi promoted a scheme called “The Crypto Program” from June 2022 to August 2023 as an advertising-package investment promising guaranteed returns of 25% monthly. Thousands of investors allegedly sent over $165 million in crypto to wallets he secretly controlled.