LOS ANGELES
Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr., 54, of Arizona, pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to obstruct justice for his role in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, officials announced Monday.
The scam defrauded investors of more than $13 million.
Operating under aliases like “Vincent Midnight,” “Delta Prime,” and “Director Vinchenzo,” Mazzotta promised high-yield returns through AI-powered crypto trading bots. Alongside co-defendant David Saffron, he lured victims into investing in fake companies, such as Mind Capital and Cloud9Capital.
To further exploit victims, Mazzotta and Saffron created a sham government agency—the “Federal Crypto Reserve”—and charged investors additional fees for bogus investigations into the disappearing firms, according to authorities.
After Saffron’s arrest, Mazzotta helped destroy evidence, including an iPad and personal records, and falsified business documents to hide his role.
Mazzotta faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced Dec. 15.
Federal prosecutors warned investors to be wary of crypto scams masked in tech jargon and fake legitimacy.
The IRS Criminal Investigation unit led the probe.