The alleged mastermind of a $165 million digital asset Ponzi scheme has been deported back to the United States from Fiji to face wire fraud and money laundering charges, the U.S. Justice Department has announced.
After being deported from Fiji earlier this month, 59-year-old U.S. citizen Edward Zimbardi appeared in court to address charges of orchestrating an alleged Ponzi scheme called “The Crypto Program.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Zimbardi—originally of Flowery Branch, Georgia—allegedly sold The Crypto Program, through promotional videos and websites, as an opportunity to invest in advertising packages with a guaranteed 25% monthly return. Investors were encouraged to pay for the packages by moving digital currency into wallets that Zimbardi secretly controlled, with thousands of investors sending more than $165 million to said wallets between June 2022 and August 2023.
However, instead of using investments to buy advertising packages, Zimbardi allegedly gambled more than $34 million on risky foreign currency bets, losing substantial money in the process and forcing him to use funds from later investors to pay earlier investors, in order to keep the scheme going. He also allegedly spent at least $10 million on personal expenses, including buying a house for his son, purchasing luxury vehicles, and making alimony payments to his ex-wife.
“Zimbardi allegedly tricked thousands of people to invest in his ‘Crypto Program’ with false promises of enormous returns,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg. “Instead, he spent the money on risky currency trades, payments to early investors, and treating himself to a house and expensive vehicles.”
When The Crypto Program eventually imploded in August 2023, and victims lost their invested funds, Zimbardi fled to Hawaii, then on to other locations around the world, eventually landing in Fiji.
After an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—in collaboration with the U.S. State and Justice departments—on July 8, 2026, Zimbardi was charged in a federal indictment with 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and 1 count of money laundering conspiracy.
When Fijian authorities became aware of the FBI investigation and charges, Zimbardi was arrested by police and deported to the U.S. on August 14, 2026.
“Zimbardi allegedly preyed on trusting individuals through a complex scheme to separate people from their hard-earned money and then reportedly fled more than 7300 miles to the South Pacific,” said Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Scammers are trying everything they can to defraud people out of their hard-earned money, but the FBI is doing everything we can to make sure they don’t succeed, no matter where they hide.”
The Attorney’s Office encouraged anyone who invested in The Crypto Program to provide victim information to the FBI, who will contact them at a later date regarding further proceedings and potential restitution.
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James Field is a senior writer and researcher specializing in legal and regulatory developments in fintech. During his decade of experience covering the tech, business and legal sectors he has worked as a deputy editor (in charge of Africa coverage) for the market leading Legal 500, written for various global news, industry and B2B outlets (including Legal Business, Geographical Magazine and Dutch News), and reported from tech events, including London Blockchain Conference and UK House of Lords Finance Summits.
