Fraudsters that use impersonation scams to dupe investors typically pose as traditional financial firms, or regulators, to lure victims, but a New York man is now facing jail for posing as a crypto influencer.
Last year, Noman Saleem pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a scheme that involved misleading investors with promises of guaranteed returns from crypto investments that raised approximately US$1.8 million.
According to court filings, between late 2020 and March 2021, Saleem posed as crypto influencers using the Telegram app, creating both public channels and subscription-based VIP channels to solicit investors.
Certain investors that joined those channels sent crypto to wallets controlled by Saleem with the promise of generating returns from crypto staking and other investments — however, those investments never took place, U.S. authorities alleged. Instead, after Saleem took control of the assets, he stopped communicating with the investors and disappeared with their assets.
Now, Saleem has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release in a U.S. federal court. Most of the stolen assets were seized by the U.S. authorities as part of the plea deal.