The most recent individual sentenced for running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, based on available information up to March 08, 2025, is Travis Ford. On January 9, 2025, Ford, a 35-year-old from Glenpool, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in defrauding thousands of investors out of over $9 million through a Ponzi scheme operated under the guise of Wolf Capital Crypto Trading LLC.
Ford, who was the CEO, co-founder, and head trader of Wolf Capital, solicited investments between January 2023 and August 2023 by promising extraordinarily high returns—1-2% daily, equating to roughly 547% annually—through what he claimed was sophisticated cryptocurrency trading. He admitted during his plea that he knew these returns were not realistically achievable. Instead of investing the funds as promised, Ford misappropriated investor money for personal gain and to benefit his co-conspirators, leaving investors with significant losses.
Although Ford has not yet been formally sentenced as of the latest updates (his sentencing date is pending), his guilty plea on January 9, 2025, marks him as the most recent individual tied to a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to face legal consequences. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, with the final sentence to be determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Fraud Section.
For context, other notable recent sentencings include Juan Tacuri (sentenced to 240 months on October 15, 2024, for the Forcount scheme) and David Carmona (sentenced to 121 months on October 4, 2024, for the IcomTech scheme), but Ford’s plea is the latest development in this space as of early 2025. Since sentencing typically follows a plea after a period of weeks or months, Ford’s case stands out as the most recent entry into the legal resolution pipeline for crypto Ponzi schemes.
The most recent individual charged with running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, based on available data up to March 08, 2025, is Douver T. Braga, a Brazilian citizen. On February 21, 2025, Braga was extradited from Switzerland to the United States and appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle to face a 13-count indictment for wire fraud and conspiracy related to a $290 million-plus Bitcoin investment fraud scheme tied to Trade Coin Club (TCC).
Braga, aged 48, allegedly operated TCC from around 2016 to 2021, primarily while living in Florida. The scheme promised investors profits from a sophisticated cryptocurrency trading platform using an algorithmic trading bot. However, authorities allege there was no such platform or bot—instead, it was a Ponzi scheme where funds from new investors were used to pay earlier ones. Braga and his co-conspirators reportedly promoted TCC as a multilevel marketing operation, encouraging investors to recruit others for additional returns. The indictment, originally returned in October 2022 and unsealed following his arrest in Switzerland in early 2025, claims Braga personally siphoned off millions for luxury purchases, including real estate and vehicles, while the scheme collected over 82,000 Bitcoin (valued at $295 million at the time) from more than 100,000 investors worldwide.
On February 21, 2025, Braga pleaded "not guilty" during his initial court appearance. His trial is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Lauren King, though a specific date wasn’t detailed in the latest updates. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 20 years in prison per wire fraud charge, with sentencing to be determined by a federal judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The case was investigated by the FBI Seattle Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation, with Braga’s extradition highlighting international cooperation in tackling crypto fraud.