Federal authorities have arrested Idin Dalpour, a 39-year-old resident of New York City, for orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of at least $43 million. The scheme, which operated from 2020 to April 2024, involved two fictitious business ventures that Dalpour used to lure unsuspecting investors with promises of lucrative returns.
TLDR
- Idin Dalpour, a 39-year-old Manhattan resident, was charged with wire fraud for running a $43 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors.
- Dalpour lured investors by promising high returns from two purported business ventures: a Las Vegas hospitality enterprise and a cryptocurrency trading operation.
- Instead of investing the funds as promised, Dalpour used new investors’ money to pay earlier investors and finance his personal expenses, including gambling losses and private school tuition.
- Dalpour provided fabricated contracts, fake emails, and doctored bank statements to make the schemes appear legitimate.
- When confronted by victims in November 2023, Dalpour admitted to lying about the businesses and misusing investor funds, stating, “You can put me in jail now.”
According to the indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Dalpour solicited investments through an entity he controlled, falsely claiming interests in a Las Vegas hospitality enterprise and a cryptocurrency trading operation.
Prosecutors allege that Dalpour made numerous misrepresentations to potential investors regarding these purported businesses.
In the case of the Las Vegas hospitality venture, Dalpour claimed that his company had contracted with a management company and a prominent Las Vegas hotel to rent condominiums to visitors.
He further asserted that the hotel arranged entertainment packages, including food, nightlife, and sports events, and that his company received a portion of the proceeds.
Dalpour even went as far as to claim ownership of shares in several Las Vegas-based sports stadiums, promising investors a cut of concessions revenues.
To substantiate these claims, Dalpour provided certain investors with fabricated contracts and emails, as well as doctored bank statements overstating his company’s assets.
He assured investors that their money was safe, claiming it was insured and held in escrow – statements that proved to be false.
Today @SDNYLIVE charging IDIN DALPOUR with wire fraud in connection with a multi-year Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of $43 million, purporting to have an interest in a Las Vegas hospitality enterprise and a cryptocurrency trading enterprise. pic.twitter.com/o4Bd0Jyus4
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 1, 2024
Regarding the cryptocurrency trading operation, Dalpour misrepresented that he purchased cryptocurrencies at wholesale prices and sold them at a profit to retail investors. Again, he promised investors lucrative annual returns and falsely claimed that their investments were insured.
In reality, Dalpour did not use the invested funds for their intended purposes. Instead, he operated a classic Ponzi scheme, using new investors’ money to pay purported returns to earlier investors.
Prosecutors allege that Dalpour spent a significant portion of the funds on personal expenses, including approximately $1.7 million in gambling losses, over $400,000 from an art dealer, and private school tuition for his children.
When investors grew suspicious and demanded their money back, Dalpour resorted to further deception. He claimed that his company’s funds were temporarily frozen due to a hack on the hotel’s servers and that a Nevada-based bank holding the funds would not release them – despite the fact that his company did not even have an account with that bank.
The unraveling of Dalpour’s scheme came in November 2023 when a group of victims confronted him directly. During this confrontation, Dalpour admitted to lying about the operation of the Las Vegas hospitality business, misusing investor funds, and fabricating the contracts and bank records he had provided to victims. In a stunning admission, Dalpour stated, “What you already have, you have, you can put me in jail now. Like right now.”
Dalpour now faces a single count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. While the charges against him are merely accusations at this stage, the allegations paint a disturbing picture of a calculated effort to defraud investors through elaborate misrepresentations and the misappropriation of funds for personal gain.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the need for vigilance and due diligence when considering investment opportunities, particularly those promising unrealistically high returns or involving complex business operations that are difficult to verify independently.
