Dwayne Golden, a 57-year-old Pennsylvania man, has been sentenced to 97 months, approximately eight years, in federal prison for orchestrating a series of fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes that defrauded investors of $40 million. The schemes operated under the names EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin, running briefly from April to August 2017, according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice.
Golden, along with co-conspirators Gregory Aggesen, Marquis Demacking Egerton, and another defendant, promised investors fixed returns through these sham crypto firms, which were later revealed to be Ponzi schemes. The group was first charged in March 2022 with fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes. Golden was ordered to forfeit $2.46 million in assets in addition to his prison term.
One co-conspirator, identified as White, received a 30-month sentence, while Aggesen and Egerton are still awaiting sentencing as of June 27, 2025. The case highlights the ongoing efforts by U.S. authorities to crack down on cryptocurrency fraud, with blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimating that crypto scams resulted in $9.9 billion in losses in 2024 alone.
