Svmuu News: U.S. prosecutors have revealed that a federal grand jury has filed 29 criminal charges against Benjamin Paul Wiener, a cryptocurrency investor from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The charges include wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, involving approximately $20 million.
According to the indictment, Wiener, 43, is accused of inducing investors to invest funds and digital assets in multiple companies under his control through false representations. Victims span South Dakota and Minnesota, involving dozens of investors. Prosecutors allege that after obtaining the funds, Wiener transferred assets through banks and cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the funds, and used a portion of the funds for personal expenses.
Prosecutors also allege that when cash flow became tight or investors demanded redemptions, Wiener would continue to recruit new investors and use the subsequent funds to repay earlier investors, operating in a manner suspected of being a Ponzi scheme. It is reported that he used eight companies, including several LLCs, to carry out these activities.
In addition, Wiener is charged with forging documents and communication records in April 2025 and using another person’s identity to fraudulently obtain a $1 million line of credit from a financial institution in Sioux Falls.
Wiener appeared in court on July 10 and pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was released after posting bail, and the case is scheduled to go to trial on September 15. Under U.S. law, telecommunications fraud and money laundering carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, and aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of at least two years to be served consecutively. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are jointly investigating the case. (The Block)