Edward Zimbardi, alleged operator of $165M crypto Ponzi scheme 'The Crypto Program,' extradited from Fiji to face US prosecution.
Regulation & Gov ·
Edward Zimbardi, a 59-year-old from Georgia, was returned to the United States on August 14 after Fijian authorities deported him in coordination with the FBI and State Department. He now faces 12 wire fraud counts, 12 money laundering counts, and one conspiracy charge related to The Crypto Program, an operation that prosecutors say took in $165 million from thousands of participants between June 2022 and August 2023.
The scheme operated by marketing investment packages that promised a guaranteed 25% monthly return, with participants sending cryptocurrency into wallets controlled by Zimbardi. According to the Department of Justice, rather than investing those funds, Zimbardi lost more than $34 million on speculative currency trades, used incoming deposits to pay earlier investors, and directed at least $10 million toward personal purchases including real estate and vehicles. The operation collapsed in August 2023, after which Zimbardi left the country and eventually settled in Fiji following discovery of the FBI investigation in July 2025.
What remains unclear is the full scope of recovery efforts or whether authorities have located and seized assets from the scheme. The FBI has appealed for victims to identify themselves, though the success and timeline of any civil or criminal asset recovery remain unspecified.