Crypto Ponzi Scheme Mastermind Gets 8 Years for $40M Investor Fraud—DOJ Confirms

Dwayne Golden of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for his role in a $40 million crypto Ponzi scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The sentence was delivered by Judge William F. Kuntz II in a Brooklyn federal court. The 57 years old man had pleaded guilty in September 2024 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

According to the prosecutor, Golden and his co-conspirators, Gregory Aggesen, Marquis Demacking Egerton (also known as “Mardy Eger”), and William White, created and operated fraudulent investment platforms.

These include EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin, between April and August 2017. These websites promised investors fixed profits through overseas crypto trading.

United States Attorney Nocella noted that the companies only lured investors with promises of guaranteed high returns from overseas cryptocurrency trading. However, prosecutors say none of the companies engaged in any real trading activity.

Instead, the defendants used incoming investor funds to pay earlier investors or diverted the money for personal use, consistent with a Ponzi scheme.

FBI Assistant Director Raia noted that the platforms raised more than $40 million in total. After the schemes collapsed, the defendants tried to hide their crimes by obstructing federal investigations.

Between July 2017 and March 2022, Golden, Aggesen, and White attempted to hinder both a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) inquiry and a federal grand jury investigation. Authorities said they destroyed key evidence and gave false and misleading statements to investigators.

Notably, William White was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role. Meanwhile, Aggesen and Egerton have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

As part of his sentence, Golden was also ordered to forfeit roughly $2.46 million in illegal gains. The court will decide on restitution to victims at a later date.

In a glimmer of hope, The U.S. Attorney’s Office encouraged victims of EmpowerCoin.com, ECoinPlus.com, or Jet-Coin.com to submit restitution claims through the FBI.

“This office is committed to protecting investors and holding fraudsters accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella. “We will continue to pursue justice for those harmed.”

Earlier this month, five individuals admitted guilt in a separate case involving a $36.9 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme. The group tricked U.S. citizens and funneled the stolen funds to a crypto scam operation based in Cambodia.

New report reveals Cambodia’s Officials Tied to $19B Crypto Scam Network Fueled by Forced Labor.#Cambodia #CryptoScam https://t.co/T0VHJdfkpY

With crypto-related scams growing, CertiK co-founder Ronghui Gu reported more than $2.1 billion already lost in 2025. The majority of these losses stem from compromised wallets and poor private key management.

Relatably, The DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize $225.3 million in Tether’s USDT, marking the largest crypto seizure tied to a “pig butchering” investment scam.

@DOJCrimDiv seizes $225.3M in Tether’s USDT—largest crypto haul tied to pig butchering scam—funds traced via OKX in global fraud network.#CryptoFraud #USDThttps://t.co/0q6GUi99SZ

DOJ officials noted that the action is part of a broader crackdown on transnational scams, with over $9.3 billion in crypto losses reported in 2024, and $5.8 billion linked directly to investment fraud.

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