In brief
- A Connecticut man is facing up to 375 years in prison for allegedly gambling away crypto customers’ funds on Stake.
- Prosecutors say he misled clients by posing as a crypto investor working for a markets guru known as “The Chef.”
- The man pleaded not guilty this week to 21 wire fraud, money laundering, and false statements charges.
A 24-year-old Connecticut man has been accused by federal prosecutors of taking almost a million dollars from would-be crypto investors and gambling away the funds online.
The man, Elmin Redzepagic, allegedly marketed himself as a savvy crypto investor who earned high rates of return. But upon collecting funds from clients, prosecutors claim, he would deposit them in Stake, the controversial offshore crypto casino.
Redzepagic lost investors over $950,000 with such activity, the Department of Justice said.
Last month, a federal grand jury in New Haven indicted Redzepagic on seven wire fraud charges, 11 counts of international money laundering, and three counts of making false statements to IRS criminal investigators. He faces a total of 375 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.
On Thursday, Redzepagic pleaded not guilty to all charges before a federal judge in Hartford. He was released on a $500,000 bond.
According to the DOJ and IRS, the defendant created an elaborate scheme to convince investors he ran a legitimate digital asset investment business.
He claimed to work for a crypto guru known only as “The Chef,” who led the operation and decided how and when investors would receive their profits.
The Chef always earned Redzepagic’s customers substantial profits, as far as the customers were aware—but would often demand additional payments for network gas fees to release the funds.
Sometimes, Redzepagic would pay his victims large “lulling” payments to keep the scheme going, prosecutors alleged.
In 2023, the defendant was interviewed about the alleged conduct by the IRS and made several false statements, the indictment claimed. He then allegedly continued his illegal scheme until March of 2025.
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