Vincent Mazzotta Admits $13M Crypto Ponzi – But Did His Fake ‘Federal Reserve’ Fool Regulators?

2025/07/30 03:42

Arizona man Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to obstruct justice on Monday for his role in orchestrating a $13 million crypto Ponzi scheme, a new press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) states.

Arizona Man Pleads Guilty in $13M Crypto Fraud

According to the July 28 press release, the one-time Los Angeles resident and his co-defendant, David Saffron, fraudulently promised high-yield crypto-trading returns from investments in companies such as Mind Capital and Cloud9Capital, among others.

The duo even went so far as to create an organization called the Federal Crypto Reserve (FCR), a fake entity that solicited thousands of dollars from victims of the scam under the guise of “investigating” the crypto companies involved in the scheme.

Between FCR and the other fraudulent crypto investments, Saffron and Mazzotta defrauded victims out of $13 million.

“Vincent Mazzotta defrauded investors in a sophisticated cryptocurrency scheme and then doubled down by using a fake government entity to further victimize those who had entrusted him with their money,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“Combating fraud in digital assets is critical to the Criminal Division’s efforts to vindicate victims’ interests and to keep bad actors out of the crypto markets,” he added.

Co-Conspirators Tried to Destroy Evidence After Arrest

Following Saffron’s arrest, Mazzotta and several other unnamed co-conspirators attempted to “conceal and destroy evidence” stemming from the crime, including an iPad and items in a personal safe.

“Mazzotta also conspired to falsify the records of his business, Runway Beauty Inc., to conceal his involvement in the investment fraud scheme from a federal grand jury,” the press release states.

Mazzotta, who is slated to be sentenced on December 15, is facing up to a total of 15 years behind bars for the digital asset scam.

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Trump’s penchant for digital assets is no secret. However, the scale of his investments is considerable, as a new infographic from Cryptonews shows. Donald Trump’s personal crypto wealth has now already exceeded the $1.2 billion mark. According to the Democratic Caucus on the U.S. Congressional Financial Services Committee, Trump has systematically worked in recent months to weaken relevant regulatory authorities and stifle ongoing proceedings to build up crypto wealth secretly. According to a recent analysis, this wealth now even exceeds the total value of his real estate portfolio. As the infographic shows, Trump’s crypto wealth is spread across several asset classes and projects with a direct or indirect connection to his name. At the top is World Liberty Financial, a crypto company with close family ties, from which, according to research, Donald Trump is said to have siphoned around $390 million. This is followed by a $315 million meme coin, for which Trump licensed his name and profited from the price increase, as well as obfuscated wallets and investments valued at $430 million. He generated further income, among other things, from the sale of his own Trump NFTs. Trump’s attributed crypto wealth according to Forbes’ research. Source: Forbes . A central element of Trump’s crypto strategy is the aggressive positioning of his media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), as an institutional Bitcoin investor. As the infographic shows, the company now holds approximately $2 billion in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related securities—including physical holdings, options, and exchange-traded products. Notably, the remaining liquid assets amount to only around $1 billion, meaning that roughly two-thirds of the total liquidity reserve is tied up in crypto assets. Percentage of BTC and bitcoin-related securities (“Bitcoin”) in total liquidity of the Trump Media & Technology Group. Source: Trump Media & Technology Group ; With this strategy, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is now one of the largest Bitcoin holders in the world. As the infographic shows, the company already ranks sixth among all publicly traded companies with Bitcoin holdings – ahead of well-known players like Tesla, Coinbase, and Galaxy Digital. Only companies like MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital, and Block (formerly Square) currently hold larger BTC reserves. This position among the top holders shows the importance Bitcoin has become for TMTG’s strategic financial management – and also highlights how closely intertwined Trump’s media empire is with the cryptocurrency industry. Top Bitcoin Treasury companies by BTC holdings. Source: BitcoinTreasuries As the infographic shows, Trump Media & Technology Group’s (TMTG) Bitcoin holdings are not only large—they also represent a significant portion of the company’s overall valuation. Approximately 40% of TMTG’s current market capitalization is accounted for by BTC holdings, underscoring the company’s dependence on the Bitcoin price. Percentage of Trump Media’s BTC held in the total market capitalization of Trump Media stock. Source: BitcoinTreasuries Despite its massive Bitcoin holdings, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) shares have recently performed significantly weaker than the Bitcoin price itself. As the infographic shows, the stock’s performance is clearly lagging behind the crypto asset – both in the short term and over several months. Stock performance vs. Bitcoin performance. Source: Finanzen.net; Donald Trump’s family circle is also deeply involved in the crypto strategy. His sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are among the co-founders of American Bitcoin. This company has already raised $220 million in institutional capital to finance Bitcoin reserves and mining infrastructure. At the same time, all three Trump sons are co-founders of World Liberty Financial, arguably the most central crypto vehicle in the Trump network; the US President operates there as “co-founder emeritus.” Eric Trump also recently commented publicly on Ethereum. On February 4, he described ETH as a buying opportunity and recently hinted that he sees the cryptocurrency’s fair value at $8,000. The neutrality of this Ethereum forecast can at least be questioned with regard to investments from the surrounding area. Source: X According to an analysis by the Washington Post, around 20% of current Trump advisors actively hold cryptocurrencies. This raises questions about the independence of political decision-making processes – especially at a time when crypto regulation and government Bitcoin initiatives are gaining increasing importance. The high proportion of investors in Trump’s immediate circle underscores the close personal and financial ties between politics and digital assets. Percentage of Trump advisors holding cryptocurrencies. Source: Washington Post
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CryptoNews2025/07/30 20:07