Edward Zimbardi loses his freedom after Fijian authorities returned him to the United States to face federal charges that prosecutors say left more than 6,000 investors short by over $165 million. The US attorney in Atlanta announced the deportation and detailed an indictment that accuses the 59 year old of running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme through a vehicle called The Crypto Program.
Federal prosecutors charged Zimbardi with 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of money‑laundering conspiracy. They say he marketed The Crypto Program as a way to buy online advertising packages, promising a guaranteed 25 percent monthly return on an initial $550 investment. Instead of purchasing ads, authorities allege Zimbardi lost tens of millions gambling on foreign currency trades and diverted at least $10 million to personal expenses, including a house for a son and alimony payments. Prosecutors further contend he used funds from later investors to cover earlier payouts.
The alleged scheme ran from June 2022 to August 2023, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say Zimbardi fled to Fiji in July 2025 after he learned the FBI was scrutinizing him, and that he skipped a May wedding in Virginia for one of his sons because he suspected agents might try to arrest him. Investigators traveled to Fiji to escort him back to the United States, and he arrived in Los Angeles.
“He had victims all over the world,” US attorney Theodore Hertzberg in Atlanta said at a news conference. “If you’re promised 25% returns every month by somebody who expresses remorse for having ‘accidentally’ lost your money in the past, you might be willing to go with it because you’re that desperate to get your money back.”
Zimbardi is expected to make an initial appearance in Los Angeles federal court. A federal public defender assigned to represent him did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case now moves into the federal court system, where prosecutors will proceed under the indictment outlined by the Atlanta office and the accused will have the opportunity to answer the charges in Los Angeles.
