- For $40M crypto fraud, Dwayne Golden gets 97 months.
- Jet-Coin, EmpowerCoin, and ECoinPlus were Ponzi.
A crypto Ponzi scam run by 57-year-old Dwayne Golden bilked over 40 million from unsuspecting investors. He was recently sentenced to 97 months in jail. On June 27, 2025, in a federal court in Brooklyn, under the chairmanship of U.S. District Judge William F. Kuntz II, sentencing followed. In September of 2024, Golden accepted a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. The scam associated with his activities was related to three digital asset businesses: EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin.
Operating in April-August 2017, the scheme attracted investors with promises of certain dependable incomes through cryptocurrency trading abroad. Rather, the companies used the fresh money of investors to pay off the previous investors or pad the pockets of the operators. The firms went out of business very quickly after the victims had their deposits taken away, which resulted in significant losses for the victims. The court sentenced Golden to imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of $2.46 million, with the restitution amount to be determined later.
Co-Conspirators and Ongoing Investigations
Golden acted in conjunction with Gregory Aggesen and Marquis Egerton, and William White. This group misled their companies to be respectable crypto trading venues. Egerton and Aggesen are still awaiting their hearing, while White was sentenced to thirty months in prison. They had also foiled two federal probes, a Federal Trade Commission investigation and a grand jury investigation by giving false statements to the conspirators.
The FBI has encouraged victims to post their restitution claims using a special portal to help in the recovery process. The U.S. Department of Justice demonstrated its intentions to break the fraudulent crypto activities by means of using the most sophisticated blockchain tracking opportunities. Cases involving North Korean gang members and a $7.7 million forfeiture and a five hundred million money laundering scheme orchestrated by a Russian individual are both part of a broader enforcement effort against crypto-related scams.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission assisted in the investigation, demonstrating a unified effort to protect investors. U.S. Attorney Nocella explained that Golden exploited the public’s interest in digital assets to carry out traditional fraud, highlighting the need for vigilance in the crypto market.
The case underscores the risks of unregulated crypto investments. Such a prospectus of promise of attractive returns at minimal risk is a red flag to investors, given that Ponzi schemes are usually risky ventures that repay little. This move by the DOJ is an indication of toughening down on such frauds, as a way of winning back lost confidence in the digital asset markets. Investors should verify platform legitimacy to avoid financial losses from fraudulent schemes.
