A Georgia man is facing federal wire fraud and money laundering charges after officials say he tricked people out of $165 million in an international cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.
Edward Zimbardi, who federal prosecutors call the alleged mastermind of a crypto investment scheme, fled to the remote islands of Fiji to avoid prosecution, according to U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg.
Zimbardi ran what he called “The Crypto Program,” which was advertised online as “an opportunity to invest in advertising packages with a guaranteed 25% monthly return,” prosecutors said. Investors were encouraged to pay for these packages by moving cryptocurrency into wallets that Zimbardi secretly controlled.