- Prosecutors say the scheme cost investors about $20 million, with dozens of victims.
- The promise of a guaranteed or fixed return is one of the biggest red flags.
- Another red flag is little to no transparency about the investment strategy.
According to the US Department of Justice, a federal grand jury charged Benjamin Paul Wiener, 43, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with 29 federal counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors say the scheme cost investors about $20 million, with dozens of victims in South Dakota and Minnesota.
The indictment says Wiener ran several businesses, raised money from investors, misled them about how the funds would be used, and spent them on things that didn’t match what he promised. Prosecutors also say the money moved through banks and crypto platforms.
Wiener has pleaded not guilty, and the charges have yet to be proven. The trial is set for September 2026, and if found guilty on all counts, Wiener could receive more than 30 years in prison.
Red Flags Investors Should Watch For
The indictment serves as a warning and a reminder that numerous crypto scams share the same warning signs.
For instance, the promise of a guaranteed or fixed return is one of the biggest tells. No legitimate crypto investment can promise steady monthly income or zero risk. Crypto is volatile, and even the professional funds have down months.
This is something the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) warns about as well.
Promises such as “guaranteed passive income,” “never lose money,” “10% every month,” and similar should immediately raise suspicion and make any investor’s alarm bells go off.
Closely related to guaranteed returns are promises of returns that consistently outperform the market, such as doubling your money. That’s not how the markets work, and even top hedge funds can’t pull that off without heavy risk. If the numbers look way better than what the established investment companies deliver, investors should inquire how those profits are actually generated.
This connects to another red flag, which is little to no transparency regarding the investment strategy. A legitimate crypto investment manager should be able to tell exactly what they’re buying, where the money is kept, how they make money, who holds the assets, and how they handle risk. If they can’t, chances are, it’s a crypto scam.
Scammers tend to hide behind buzzwords like “proprietary AI,” “secret algorithms,” “institutional strategies,” “private liquidity,” and others without any proof.
Additional red flags include pressure to invest immediately, unregistered or unlicensed investment firms, claims that crypto is federally insured, referral‑based growth, and the option to only open and fund the account with crypto.
Related: Crypto Scam: How to Document and Report Fraud to Law Enforcement
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