American created a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme and stole $ 43 million in digital assets from investors

on May 1, New York resident Idin Dalpour was charged with creating a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, with losses estimated at $ 43 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that since 2020, Dalpour had been running a fraudulent scheme, promising investors from the United States and other countries «huge returns» of up to 42% per annum. The fraudster urged his victims to invest in the Las Vegas hotel business and in cryptocurrency trading.

According to prosecutor Damian Williams, Dalpour’s promises were a complete lie. The man used a classic pyramid model, paying investors a profit using the funds of new investors. In addition, he spent about $ 1.7 million of the victims' money on gambling, paying off debts, and paying for his children’s private school education.

Dalpour also deceived investors when they tried to get their money back, claiming that his company’s assets were temporarily frozen by the bank due to «server hacking.» In November 2023, during a meeting with a group of investors, he allegedly confessed to fraud, falsification of documents and embezzlement, saying: «What you already have, you have. You can put me in jail right now.»

Idin Dalpour faces up to 20 years in prison on the charges.

Last year in March, Ukrainian and German law enforcement officers exposed a hacker network that had been committing cybercrime since 2010. In total, more than 600 organizations and individuals were affected. Among them are the UK National Health Service and the University Hospital of Düsseldorf. The damage was worth millions of euros.