Co-Owner of Virtual Currency Companies Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Operating Crypto Ponzi Schemes

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Dwayne Golden was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II to 97 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.  The charges relate to a conspiracy to offer fraudulent investments in digital assets. Golden and his co-conspirators raised more than $40 million from investors based on false promises of guaranteed returns from trading in digital assets.  In fact, the defendants’ businesses operated as Ponzi schemes and used the money to repay existing investors or to benefit themselves.  After the schemes collapsed, Golden and co-defendants William White and Gregory Aggesen conspired to obstruct multiple federal investigations. As a part of his sentence, Golden was also ordered to forfeit approximately $2.46 million in ill-gotten gains.  Restitution will be determined by the Court at a later date.  Golden pleaded guilty in September 2024.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.  

“Dwayne Golden and his co-conspirators took advantage of investor interest in exciting new technologies to perpetrate a fraud scheme that is as old as time, and to make millions of dollars for themselves in the process,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Golden and his co-defendants offered no legitimate services and none of the companies engaged in any actual trading in cryptocurrency as they claimed.  My Office is committed to protecting the investing public and the integrity of the digital assets markets from fraudsters like the defendant, and we will be relentless in pursing justice for investors.”

Mr. Nocella thanked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for its invaluable assistance in the investigation.

“Alongside his co-conspirators, Dwayne Golden orchestrated an elaborate scheme rooted in deceit and false promises to swindle investors of more than $40 million.  Johnson’s lack of candor misled both his clients and federal investigators, demonstrating an utter disregard for integrity to his company or adherence to the law,” stated FBI Assistant Director Raia.  “May today’s sentencing reflect the FBI’s steadfast commitment to dismantling any sham company that steals from the pockets of unsuspecting victims.”

Between April 2017 and August 2017, Golden, co-defendants Gregory Aggesen, and Marquis Demacking Egerton, also known as “Mardy Eger,” together with others, operated a series of digital asset companies called EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin.  EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin promised investors and potential investors guaranteed fixed returns on digital asset investments. They further fraudulently promised investors and potential investors that these returns were made possible through overseas digital asset trading operations.  In reality, the assets were used to repay other investors or stolen by Golden, Aggesen, and Egerton, and the companies collapsed shortly after receiving the investors’ assets without the companies having engaged in trading activity.  In total, during its period of operation, EmpowerCoin, ECoinPlus, and Jet-Coin received more than $40 million from investors.

From July 2017 to the March 2022, Golden, Aggesen and White conspired to obstruct a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation and a federal criminal grand jury investigation into the fraudulent schemes.  Golden, Aggesen, and White destroyed evidence, and White, on Aggesen’s behalf, provided false and misleading information to the FTC and in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.

If you were an EmpowerCoin.com, ECoinPlus.com and/or Jet-Coin.com investor, you may be entitled to restitution.  To submit a claim for restitution, please visit http://fbi.gov/jetcoinscams.

The four defendants in the case have pleaded guilty.  White was sentenced to 30 months in prison.  Aggesen and Egerton are awaiting sentencing.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Alixandra E. Smith, Catherine M. Mirabile and Nick M. Axelrod are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section, who is handling forfeiture matters.

The Defendants:

DWAYNE GOLDEN
Age: 57
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

GREGORY AGGESEN
Age: 58
Standfordville, New York

MARQUIS DEMACKING EGERTON (also known as “Mardy Eger”)
Age: 58
Washington, North Carolina

WILLIAM WHITE
Age: 54
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-88 (S-1) (WFK)