A 24-year-old man with ties to Wolcott, Connecticut, is dealing with federal costs after prosecutors say he ran a crypto investment scam and funneled practically $1 million of victims’ Bitcoin into on-line bets on the offshore playing web site Stake.com.
A grand jury in New Haven returned the 21-count indictment on January 20, and authorities unsealed it this week. Federal prosecutors allege that Elmin Redzepagic promoted himself as a talented digital asset dealer and persuaded folks to ship him Bitcoin with guarantees of sturdy, regular returns.
Investigators say the gross sales pitch centered on straightforward earnings. Victims have been advised their cryptocurrency had grown in worth and was able to be withdrawn. However once they tried to money out, Redzepagic allegedly stated they first needed to pay “fuel charges” or different costs. In some instances, he claimed he labored with a crypto buying and selling group led by somebody identified solely as “The Chef,” who supposedly determined when payouts can be launched.
How the alleged Wolcott crypto scheme involving Stake.com unfolded
Court docket data paint a special image of the place the cash went. Relatively than putting buyers’ Bitcoin into reliable trades, prosecutors say Redzepagic transferred the funds to accounts on Stake.com, an offshore on-line playing platform. Authorities allege that he used the cash there to position bets.
By the point the exercise ended, investigators estimated the playing resulted in a internet lack of about $950,000 throughout a number of victims.
The indictment costs Redzepagic with seven counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of worldwide cash laundering. He additionally faces three counts of creating false statements to brokers with the Inner Income Service’s Legal Investigation Division.
If convicted, every wire fraud and cash laundering rely carries a possible sentence of as much as 20 years in jail. The false assertion costs are every punishable by as much as 5 years.
Redzepagic, who lately lived in Florida, appeared Thursday in federal courtroom in Hartford. He pleaded not responsible to all counts. After the listening to, he was launched on a $500,000 bond because the case proceeds. Justice of the Peace Choose Thomas O. Farris presided.
In accordance with a publicly out there roster biography from Southern Connecticut State College, Redzepagic beforehand performed males’s basketball for the varsity and has ties to Wolcott.
Federal officers identified that an indictment isn’t proof of guilt. Underneath U.S. legislation, a defendant is presumed harmless except prosecutors show guilt past an affordable doubt.
Authorities say the alleged fraud spanned from about Might 2021 via March 2025. Throughout that stretch, victims have been directed to ship Bitcoin to digital pockets addresses that investigators say Redzepagic managed.
The IRS Legal Investigation Division is main the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Legal professional Susan Wines is prosecuting the case.
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