Georgia prosecutors have unsealed a 25-count indictment charging Edward Zimbardi in connection with an alleged $165 million cryptocurrency scheme that authorities say defrauded thousands of investors. According to a report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), authorities in Fiji apprehended Zimbardi and handed him over to federal agents days before the indictment was made public.

The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Zimbardi, 59, was scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, though the report not state the calendar date for that scheduled appearance. The charges comprise 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Under federal law, wire fraud and money laundering each carry maximum potential sentences of up to 20 years per count, with any sentence to be imposed by the court.

Indictment Details Alleged Promise of 25 Percent Monthly Returns

Prosecutors allege that the "Crypto Program" promised investors returns of up to 25 percent each month through high-yield investment platforms. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the alleged scheme operated from June 2022 until August 2023. Promotional videos and websites pitched an opportunity to invest in advertising packages with a guaranteed 25 percent monthly return, the office said. Guarantees of outsized, fixed returns promoted through polished videos and websites are among the red flags U.S. regulators have long cautioned investors to watch for in high-yield offerings.

Investors were encouraged to move cryptocurrency into wallets that prosecutors say Zimbardi secretly controlled. The office alleges that he placed more than $34 million into risky foreign currency bets, used money from later investors to pay earlier ones, and spent at least $10 million on personal expenses. The listed expenses included a house for his son, luxury vehicles, and alimony payments. The alleged use of newer investors' money to pay earlier participants is the defining mechanic of a Ponzi scheme, a structure U.S. regulators have repeatedly flagged in warnings about crypto-related fraud.

After the program collapsed in August 2023, investors were unable to recover their money, prosecutors said. Zimbardi traveled to Hawaii, Fiji, and other locations around the world according to the office. In July 2025, after learning of the FBI investigation, he fled to Fiji and remained there for more than a year, prosecutors said.

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said Zimbardi allegedly used investor money for risky currency trades, payments to early investors, and personal purchases. Hertzberg also said Zimbardi allegedly fled after the scheme collapsed. The attorney's statement credited law enforcement and diplomatic authorities in Fiji and the United States with returning him to the country.

Return From Fiji Follows International Search

The OCCRP report says Zimbardi was apprehended in Fiji last week. Prosecutors said he canceled plans to attend his son's wedding in Virginia this May because he suspected the FBI planned to arrest him when he arrived. U.S. Embassy photographs showed an agent in an FBI jacket escorting Zimbardi onto a Fiji Airways plane.

Fugitive recoveries of this kind rely on cooperation between U.S. agencies and foreign law enforcement, a channel the U.S. Attorney's Office credited with returning Zimbardi to face the charges. Authorities also said Zimbardi directed at least two businesses in Fiji as his legal problems grew. The U.S. Attorney's Office said there is no evidence those businesses were involved in the suspected wrongdoing.

The indictment now brings the case into federal court, where the charges remain allegations to be tested in proceedings. Under standard federal criminal procedure, the stages ahead include an arraignment and pretrial proceedings such as discovery and motions before any trial.