NY Man Charged With Using Sham Blockchain Venture To Defraud Investors

Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging JEREMY JORDAN-JONES, the self-styled “founder” of a purported technology company, with wire fraud, securities fraud, making false statements to a bank, and aggravated identity theft.  JORDAN-JONES was arrested today and is expected to be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.

“As alleged, Jordan-Jones, capitalizing on the publicity around blockchain technology, perpetrated a brazen scheme to defraud investors,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “He touted his company as a groundbreaking blockchain startup, backed by high-profile partnerships. In reality, Jordan-Jones’s company was a sham, and investors’ funds were siphoned off to bankroll his lavish lifestyle.  This should be an example to would be financial fraudsters that the women and men of the Southern District and the FBI are watching and to the investing public that fraudsters often use the promise of new technology to cloak their schemes.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia said: “Jeremy Jordan-Jones allegedly defrauded investors of more than one million dollars through misrepresentations of his purported company's capabilities, partnerships, and investment intentions. Jordan-Jones's alleged blatant lies funded his personal lifestyle at the expense of unknowing victims. The FBI is committed to apprehending any individual who employs deceitful tactics and illusionary business models to steal from trusted investors.”

As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:^[1]

From at least in or about January 2021 through at least in or about November 2022, JORDAN-JONES engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in Amalgam Capital Ventures (“Amalgam”), a technology startup that purported to offer point-of-sale systems and blockchain-based payment and security solutions.  JORDAN-JONES misrepresented that Amalgam had developed functioning software products, falsely claimed that it had lucrative high-profile partnerships with major-league sports teams and prominent payment-processing platforms, and made misleading statements about Amalgam’s financial condition. In perpetrating his fraudulent scheme, JORDAN-JONES submitted falsified financial documents to a bank.  He also falsely represented to investors that their money would be used for listing a proprietary cryptocurrency coin on global cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as for hardware, software, and other expenses associated with the Amalgam’s operations.

All the while, JORDAN-JONES well knew that Amalgam had no operable products, few—if any—customers, and zero legitimate business partnerships.  Based on his materially false and fraudulent representations, JORDAN-JONES obtained over $1 million from investors and lenders, much of which he used for his personal benefit.  Ultimately, Amalgam ceased operations, and investors and lenders suffered significant financial losses.

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JORDAN-JONES is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of false statements to a financial institution, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and one  count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Mr. Clayton also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed a parallel civil action.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Task Force.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Marguerite B. Colson is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.