Dwayne Golden, Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme, Florida 2022
Dwayne Golden, along with Jatin Patel, Marquis Egerton, and Gregory Aggesen, are facing charges of fraud for operating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a federal civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on March 8, 2022, alleging the group fraudulently solicited over $44 million in investments.
According to the CFTC complaint, Golden, Patel, and Egerton operated the websites Empowercoin and Ecoinplus, while Golden, Patel, Aggesen, and an accomplice ran JetCoin. These websites promised investors guaranteed daily profits from professional Bitcoin trading, but instead, the funds were either misappropriated by the defendants or used to pay earlier investors – a classic Ponzi scheme structure.
The complaint details that approximately $9.8 million worth of Bitcoin was misappropriated through Empowercoin and Ecoinplus, and another $7.8 million through JetCoin. The CFTC is seeking restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
In a parallel criminal action filed today, Dwayne Golden, Marquis Egerton, and Gregory Aggesen were indicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (United States v. Golden, No. 22 cr. 88). An additional individual was charged with obstruction of justice.
“This case illustrates how fraudsters never tire of devising schemes to separate people from their hard-earned money, and digital asset frauds are no exception,” stated Acting Director of Enforcement Vincent McGonagle. The CFTC received assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority in this matter.
Individuals who suspect fraudulent activity are encouraged to report it to the CFTC via the toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC, online tip submission, or through the Whistleblower Office.
Source: CFTC.gov
Source: https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8498-22