New York man impersonates crypto influencer, defrauds over $1.4 million, sentenced to 15 months

CoinFeed June 24 news, according to The Block, New York man Noman Saleem was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for impersonating a crypto influencer to commit fraud. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland stated that Saleem pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges last September, admitting to creating fake Telegram accounts mimicking well-known cryptocurrency influencers, attracting thousands to his channels, and setting up paid "VIP sub-channels" to further collect money. Prosecutors said Saleem lured multiple victims into transferring digital assets to wallets he controlled under the guise of offering staking rewards, but never actually performed any staking operations, then cut off contact and disappeared with the funds. Victims included at least one Maryland resident, with total involved funds exceeding $1.4 million. The U.S. government has recovered most of the defrauded funds.