Georgia prosecutors have unsealed a 25-count indictment against Edward Zimbardi in an alleged $165 million crypto scheme that they say defrauded thousands of investors. Authorities in Fiji apprehended Zimbardi and transferred him to federal agents days before the indictment, according to the OCCRP report.
The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Zimbardi, 59, was scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. The charges include 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The report does not state the calendar date for that scheduled appearance.
Unseals 25-Count Indictment Details Alleged Returns
Prosecutors allege the Crypto Program promised investors returns of up to 25 percent each month through high-yield investment platforms. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the alleged scheme operated from June 2022 until August 2023. Promotional videos and websites described an opportunity to invest in advertising packages with a guaranteed 25 percent monthly return, the office said.
Investors were encouraged to move cryptocurrency into wallets that prosecutors say Zimbardi secretly controlled. The office alleges he put more than $34 million into risky foreign currency bets, used later investors’ money to pay earlier investors, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses. The listed expenses included a house for his son, luxury vehicles and alimony payments.
After the program collapsed in August 2023, investors could not recover their money, prosecutors said. Zimbardi traveled to Hawaii, Fiji and other locations around the world, according to the office. In July 2025, after learning of the FBI investigation, he fled to Fiji and remained there for more than a year, prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said Zimbardi allegedly used investor money for risky currency trades, payments to early investors and personal purchases. Hertzberg also said Zimbardi allegedly fled after the scheme collapsed. The attorney’s statement credited law enforcement and diplomatic authorities in Fiji and the United States with returning him to the country.
Return From Fiji Follows International Search
The report says Zimbardi was apprehended in Fiji last week. Prosecutors said he canceled plans to attend his son’s wedding in Virginia this May because he suspected the FBI planned to arrest him when he arrived. U.S. Embassy photographs showed an agent in an FBI jacket escorting Zimbardi onto a Fiji Airways plane.
Authorities also said Zimbardi directed at least two businesses in Fiji as his legal problems grew. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said there is no evidence those businesses were involved in the suspected wrongdoing. The indictment now brings the case into federal court, where the charges remain allegations to be tested in proceedings.
Two other cases show how separate allegations involving digital assets have reached courts and regulators: an alleged cryptocurrency scheme in India and a U.S. crypto case brought by regulators. For a broader view of fraud claims around the asset class, Chris Skinner’s comments on crypto fraud address the distinction between an asset and alleged misconduct by individuals.
