Crypto Fraudster Gets 8 Years in $40M Ponzi Scheme
A New York man will spend the next eight years behind bars for his part in a cryptocurrency scam that cheated investors out of more than $40 million. Dwayne Golden, 57, was sentenced this week in Brooklyn federal court after admitting last fall to wire fraud and money laundering charges.
The scheme wasn’t complicated—just the same old trick dressed up in crypto jargon. Golden and three others ran three shady digital asset firms—EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin—promising big returns from overseas trading. Instead, they were just shuffling money from new investors to pay off earlier ones, pocketing the rest. Classic Ponzi stuff.
How It Fell Apart
The whole thing lasted barely five months in 2017 before the group pulled the plug, vanishing with the cash. But here’s the thing: they didn’t just take the money and run. Prosecutors say Golden and his co-defendants—Gregory Aggesen, Marquis Egerton (who also went by “Mardy Eger”), and William White—tried to cover their tracks. Fake documents, destroyed evidence, the works.
White already got 30 months for his role. Aggesen and Egerton are still waiting to learn their fate. As for Golden, he’s also coughing up $2.46 million, with more restitution likely coming later.
A Busy Month for Crypto Crackdowns
This sentencing isn’t some one-off. Federal prosecutors have been swatting down crypto scams left and right lately. Earlier in June, the DOJ went after $225 million tied to “pig butchering” romance scams. Then there was the $7.7 million seizure linked to North Korean hackers. And don’t forget the Russian crypto payment founder charged with laundering half a billion.
It’s not exactly subtle—the feds are making a point. With crypto frauds surging, they’re throwing resources at tracking stolen funds and extraditing suspects. The FBI even put out a call for victims in this case to file claims, hoping to recover at least some of what was lost.
But here’s the awkward truth: these schemes keep working because people keep falling for them. Flashy websites, vague promises of “guaranteed” returns—it’s the same script every time. Maybe this sentencing slows the next scammer down for a second. Or maybe not. Either way, the DOJ seems ready to keep playing whack-a-mole.
