South Dakota Crypto Promoter Faces 29-Count Indictment Over Alleged $20M Investor Ponzi 🎩

A federal grand jury has indicted a South Dakota cryptocurrency investor on wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges over an alleged $20 million investment scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday. The 29-count indictment names 43-year-old Benjamin Paul Wiener, who prosecutors say persuaded individuals to invest money and digital assets with his companies through false statements and fraudulent representations.

According to the indictment, Wiener allegedly used funds from new investors to repay earlier investors and to cover personal expenses once existing funds were depleted. The alleged scheme affected dozens of victims across South Dakota, Minnesota and the surrounding region, according to prosecutors.

The wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft charges carry maximum penalties that, if imposed consecutively, would total decades in prison and substantial fines. If convicted, Wiener faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud, up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each wire fraud and money laundering count, and a mandatory consecutive two-year prison term for aggravated identity theft.

The case is being prosecuted by federal authorities in South Dakota as part of ongoing enforcement actions targeting alleged fraud in the digital asset sector. No trial date has been announced in the Department of Justice's Thursday statement.