The FBI recently arrested Idin Dalpour, a 39-year-old from New York, over allegations of running a $43 million Ponzi scheme. The scheme involved a crypto trading platform and a Las Vegas hospitality business. Dalpour now faces charges of wire fraud and could receive up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Scheme Details and Investor Deception
From 2020 to April 2024, Dalpour allegedly operated a complex scam through “Entity-1,” a company he owned, which drew investors from both the U.S. and internationally. He enticed investors with the promise of high returns, initially advertising annual profits of 42%. To convince investors, Dalpour is accused of fabricating contracts, emails, and bank statements that exaggerated the profitability and legitimacy of his ventures.
Dalpour claimed that his company could buy cryptocurrency at wholesale prices and sell it to retail investors at a substantial profit. He also told investors that he had agreements with a top Las Vegas hotel and a management company to rent condos to tourists, which would generate additional income.
Misuse of Funds and Legal Consequences
However, the indictment alleges that Dalpour did not use the investor funds as he had promised. Instead, he reportedly used new investments to pay earlier investors and spent significant amounts on personal expenses. These expenses included $1.7 million on gambling, over $400,000 on art purchases from Art Direct, and tuition for his children’s private schooling.
As the scheme unraveled, Dalpour gave investors various false reasons for why they could not retrieve their funds, including claims of a hack into the hotel’s servers and issues with non-existent bank accounts.
In November 2023, during a confrontation about the fraudulent activities, Dalpour admitted to lying about the business operations and the misuse of funds. His arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing investigation led by the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force of the Southern District of New York. Dalpour is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses in Manhattan federal court.