Edward Zimbardi Faces Federal Charges in Alleged $165 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme After Fiji Deportation

Prosecutors in Atlanta say the Flowery Branch, Georgia, man took in more than $165 million from investors. He has been charged, not convicted, and the case is unresolved.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 18, 2026, 7:23 a.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 17, 2026, 5:29 p.m. ETWritten Aug 19, 2026, 6:12 p.m. ET

Edward Zimbardi, 59, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was returned to the United States after being deported from Fiji on August 14, 2026, and faces federal wire fraud and money laundering charges, according to an August 17, 2026, announcement reported by wsau.com and a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. **The case is at the charging stage and has not been decided.** According to that press release, Zimbardi was in a federal indictment on July 8, 2026, with 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. No trial has taken place and no court has ruled on the allegations. The release states plainly: "The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial." Anyone reading this account later should understand that it describes an open, unresolved matter as of August 17, 2026. Prosecutors allege that between June 2022 and August 2023, Zimbardi created and promoted a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called The Crypto Program, defrauding more than 6,000 investors and causing more than $165 million in losses. The scheme was pitched, according to prosecutors, as a chance to buy online advertising packages with a guaranteed 25% monthly return on an initial $550 investment, with investors moving cryptocurrency into wallets Zimbardi secretly controlled. Instead of buying advertising, prosecutors allege, Zimbardi gambled more than $34 million on risky foreign currency bets and lost substantial money, used funds from later investors to pay earlier ones, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses — including a house for one of his sons, luxury vehicles, and alimony payments to his ex-wife. These remain allegations that the government has yet to prove. Theodore S. Hertzberg is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, the Atlanta-based office prosecuting the case. In the office's press release, Hertzberg said: "Zimbardi allegedly tricked thousands of people to invest 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." Hertzberg added that "when his scam imploded, he allegedly tried to evade federal prosecution by fleeing to the other side of the world," and credited law enforcement and diplomatic authorities in Fiji and the United States with returning him to American soil. According to the release, Zimbardi traveled to Hawaii, Fiji and other locations after The Crypto Program collapsed in August 2023, and in July 2025 — after becoming aware of the FBI's investigation — he fled to Fiji and lived there for more than a year. In May 2026 he allegedly canceled plans to attend his son's wedding in Virginia, suspecting correctly that FBI agents would try to arrest him there. Fijian authorities deported him on August 14, 2026, in coordination with the FBI and the U.S. Department of State. Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in the same release that Zimbardi "allegedly preyed on trusting individuals through a complex scheme to separate people from their hard-earned money and then reportedly fled more than 7300 miles to the South Pacific." The case is being investigated by the FBI. Zimbardi was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles, California, where the government said it would argue for his detention pending further proceedings in the Northern District of Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany L. Rupert is prosecuting. People who invested in The Crypto Program are asked to provide victim information to the FBI at http://fbi.gov/thecryptoprogram.

Earlier reports

Aug 19, 2026, 6:10 p.m. ET
Edward Zimbardi Charged in Federal Court Over Alleged $165 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme
Edward Zimbardi, 59, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was scheduled to appear in federal court on August 17, 2026, following his deportation from Fiji over charges stemming from an alleged $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Federal court records state that Zimbardi was charged in an indictment on July 8, 2026, with 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The case remains at the charging stage, and Zimbardi is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
According to prosecutors and official records, Zimbardi operated "The Crypto Program" between June 2022 and August 2023, pitching online advertising packages with a guaranteed 25% monthly return on an initial $550 investment to more than 6,000 investors. Prosecutors allege that Zimbardi secretly controlled the cryptocurrency wallets, lost tens of millions of dollars gambling on foreign currency bets—including over $34 million in risky trades—used new investor money to repay earlier investors, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses such as a home for his son, luxury vehicles, and alimony payments.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated that Zimbardi fled to Fiji in July 2025 after becoming aware of an FBI investigation. On August 14, 2026, Fijian authorities deported Zimbardi to the United States in coordination with the FBI and the U.S. Department of State. The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany L. Rupert.
Aug 18, 2026, 7:23 a.m. ETFirst report
Edward Zimbardi Charged in Alleged $165 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme
A federal indictment charges Edward Zimbardi, 59, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, with twelve counts of wire fraud, twelve counts of money laundering, and one count of money laundering conspiracy, according to the announcement published on August 17, 2026, by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. The indictment was returned on July 8, 2026.
The case has not been decided. It stands at the charging stage only. No trial has been held, no plea has been recorded, and no judge or jury has ruled on any of the 25 counts. The announcement states plainly: "Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial." A reader coming to this account at any later date should assume the allegations below remain unproven unless a subsequent court record says otherwise.
Zimbardi was deported from Fiji to the United States on August 14, 2026, by Fijian authorities acting in coordination with the FBI and the U.S. Department of State, the announcement says. He was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles, California, later on August 17, 2026, where the government said it would argue for his detention in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending further proceedings in the Northern District of Georgia.
Theodore S. Hertzberg is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, the office prosecuting the case. In the announcement, Hertzberg said: "Zimbardi allegedly tricked thousands of people to invest 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." Hertzberg added that "when his scam imploded, he allegedly tried to evade federal prosecution by fleeing to the other side of the world."
According to the office's account of the charges and other information presented in court, Zimbardi created and promoted an alleged Ponzi scheme called The Crypto Program between June 2022 and August 2023, telling investors in videos and on websites that they were buying advertising packages carrying a guaranteed 25% monthly return. Investors were encouraged to pay by moving cryptocurrency into wallets Zimbardi secretly controlled, and thousands of investors together sent more than $165 million to those wallets.
Rather than buying advertising packages, the filing alleges, Zimbardi gambled more than $34 million on risky foreign currency bets and lost substantial money, paid earlier investors with funds from later investors, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses, including a house for his son, luxury vehicles, and alimony payments to his ex-wife. After The Crypto Program collapsed in August 2023, he traveled to Hawaii, Fiji, and other locations; in July 2025, after learning of the FBI investigation, he fled to Fiji and lived there for over a year, the announcement says. In May 2026 he canceled plans to attend his son's wedding in Virginia after suspecting — correctly, according to the office — that FBI agents would try to arrest him there.
Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, whose office investigated the case, said Zimbardi "allegedly preyed on trusting individuals through a complex scheme to separate people from their hard-earned money and then reportedly fled more than 7300 miles to the South Pacific." Graham added: "Scammers are trying everything they can to defraud people out of their hard-earned money, but the FBI is doing everything we can to make sure they don't succeed, no matter where they hide."
The FBI is asking people who invested in The Crypto Program to submit victim information at http://fbi.gov/thecryptoprogram, and says it will contact victims later about further proceedings, including documentation that may be needed for restitution. Assistant United States Attorney Bethany L. Rupert is prosecuting the case. The announcement credits assistance from the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs; the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service Overseas Criminal Investigations Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji; the Fiji Ministry of Immigration; the Fiji Police Force; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Georgia Secretary of State; and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

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