Federal prosecutors indicted 24-year-old Elmin Redzepagic of Wolcott, Connecticut, on 21 counts alleging a cryptocurrency investment scheme that operated from May 2021 through March 2025. The indictment alleges he solicited funds by representing himself as a skilled crypto trader and diverted large portions of investor deposits into an online gambling venue, with investigators and local reporting tracing about $950,000 lost at that gambling site. Charges include wire fraud and identity-related offenses, and the indictment identifies transactions that prosecutors state could support money laundering counts if concealment or layering is proven. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut and IRS Criminal Investigation announced the indictment and named U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan and IRS CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Demeo in the announcement. Proceedings are pending in federal court in New Haven and the defendant is presumed innocent. Investigators report that funds moved through exchanges, wallets, and payment accounts before arriving at the gambling platform and in personal spending, and the indictment and accompanying announcements reference tracing affidavits, subpoenas to exchanges and payment firms, asset restraints, forfeiture motions, and potential restitution efforts. Separately, an indictment charged two Glastonbury residents with using stolen identities to claim signup bonuses and withdraw roughly $3 million, and prosecutors referenced other recent multi-million dollar wire fraud resolutions in Connecticut as part of related enforcement activity.
Source: https://web3businessnews.com/crypto/ct-crypto-fraud-indictment-gambling/