18 August 2026 , 20:17
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Federal prosecutors in Georgia have unsealed a 25-count indictment against an American man accused of orchestrating a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors, just days after authorities in Fiji apprehended him and handed him over to federal agents.
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, marks the culmination of an international hunt for Edward Zimbardi, 59, who prosecutors say promised up to 25 percent monthly returns through high-yield investment platforms before fleeing to the South Pacific as federal regulators closed in.
Zimbardi was scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. He did not respond to an earlier request for comment.
“Zimbardi allegedly tricked thousands of people into investing in his ‘Crypto Program’ with false promises of enormous returns. Instead, he spent the money on risky currency trades, payments to early investors, and treating himself to a house and expensive vehicles,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.
“When his scam imploded, he allegedly tried to evade federal prosecution by fleeing to the other side of the world. Thanks to law enforcement and diplomatic authorities in Fiji and the United States, Zimbardi is back on American soil and will face trial.”
David Thornburgh, an attorney representing LeeAnn Harper—who alleges in an ongoing civil case in Georgia that she was defrauded by Zimbardi—said he was focused on holding Zimbardi accountable.
“Ms. Harper had the courage to come forward and publicly accuse Mr. Zimbardi of operating what she alleges was a massive fraud scheme,” Thornburgh said. “Rather than confront those allegations, Mr. Zimbardi fled the United States like the coward he is. We are extremely pleased to see him returned here to answer for his conduct, and we look forward to seeing justice take its course.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the alleged scheme ran from June 2022 until August 2023.
“In his promotional videos and websites, Zimbardi allegedly told investors that The Crypto Program was an opportunity to invest in advertising packages with a guaranteed 25 percent monthly return,” the office said. “Investors were encouraged to pay for their advertising packages by moving cryptocurrency into wallets Zimbardi secretly controlled.”
Prosecutors said Zimbardi instead put more than $34 million into risky foreign currency bets, used money from later investors to pay earlier ones, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses, including a house for his son, luxury vehicles, and alimony payments.
After the Crypto Program collapsed in August 2023, leaving investors unable to recover their money, Zimbardi traveled to Hawaii, Fiji, and “other locations around the world,” according to prosecutors.
In July 2025, after becoming aware of the FBI’s investigation, Zimbardi fled to Fiji and remained there for more than a year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Investigation findings revealed that Zimbardi directed at least two businesses in Fiji even as his legal issues mounted overseas, though there is no evidence those businesses were involved in the suspected wrongdoing.
Prosecutors noted that Zimbardi canceled plans to attend his son’s wedding in Virginia this May after correctly suspecting that the FBI was preparing to arrest him upon his arrival.
Instead, he was apprehended in Fiji last week. Photos posted by the U.S. Embassy show an agent in an FBI jacket escorting Zimbardi onto a Fiji Airways plane.
World Affairs Correspondent