Crypto Ponzi Suspect Who Promised 25% Monthly Returns Finally Caught After Prior Conviction and Dutch Arrest

Edward Zimbardi, a Georgia man accused of running a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, has been returned to the United States after being deported from Fiji, bringing a long record of legal and regulatory scrutiny into focus.

Zimbardi, 59, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, was deported from Fiji on Aug. 14 and taken into FBI custody in Los Angeles. He was due to appear in federal court there on Aug. 17 before the case moves to the Northern District of Georgia.

A federal grand jury indicted Zimbardi on July 8 on 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege that more than 6,000 investors sent more than $165 million in cryptocurrency to wallets he controlled.

The 25% Monthly Promise

Prosecutors allege Zimbardi created and promoted The Crypto Program between June 2022 and August 2023. Through promotional videos and websites, he allegedly presented the operation as an opportunity to buy online advertising packages that offered a guaranteed 25% monthly return. Reuters reported that the initial investment was $550.

The indictment alleges that the advertising packages were fictitious. Instead, prosecutors say Zimbardi used more than $34 million in investor funds for risky foreign currency trades, using new investors’ money to pay earlier participants.

At least $10 million was allegedly spent on personal expenses, including a house for one of his sons, luxury vehicles and alimony payments to his former wife. The scheme collapsed in August 2023, according to prosecutors. But the federal case was not the first legal trouble involving Zimbardi.

A Record That Predates The Crypto Program

Zimbardi’s earlier criminal history dates to 1997, when he was convicted in Georgia of felony theft and served about 17 months in prison, according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. More than two decades later, regulators began scrutinizing investment ventures linked to Zimbardi and entities known as IMG and CryptoProgram.

In June 2023, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation ordered Zimbardi and CryptoProgram to stop offering securities that had not been properly qualified. The order alleged that investors were told their money would be used for online advertising, while funds were instead used in part to pay other investors and sent to a foreign exchange broker. Georgia regulators later imposed their own restrictions.

A February 2026 emergency order from the Georgia Secretary of State barred Zimbardi from associating with broker-dealers or investment advisers and required him to pay a $500,000 civil penalty. Those regulatory actions came before the federal indictment in the Crypto Program case.

Arrest In The Netherlands

Zimbardi was also arrested in the Netherlands in 2024, according to OCCRP, which cited U.S. and Dutch media reports. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service told OCCRP that Zimbardi was a suspect in a criminal investigation but that the prosecution had been transferred to a foreign authority. It did not provide further details about the case.

The arrest became another point in an international trail that later led to Fiji. OCCRP reported that Zimbardi appeared to have moved to Fiji in 2025. Corporate records showed his involvement with two companies in Nadi, but there was no evidence those businesses were connected to the conduct alleged by U.S. authorities.

Flight To Fiji And Return To The US

U.S. prosecutors say Zimbardi fled to Fiji in July 2025 after learning that the FBI was investigating him. He remained there for more than a year. In May 2026, prosecutors allege, he canceled plans to attend his son’s wedding in Virginia after suspecting FBI agents would try to arrest him there.

Fijian authorities later learned of the federal charges and deported Zimbardi to the United States on Aug. 14. The operation involved the FBI, the U.S. State Department, Fiji’s Ministry of Immigration and Fiji police.

“The Department of Justice will hunt alleged schemers literally to the ends of the earth and drag them back to face justice,” U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said after Zimbardi’s return, according to local reporting.

The case remains an allegation. The indictment contains charges, not findings of guilt, and Zimbardi is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI is seeking information from people who invested in The Crypto Program as the investigation continues and authorities assess potential restitution.