Crypto Conman Faces 15 Years in $13M Investment Scam

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Crypto Conman Faces 15 Years After $13 Million Fake Investment Plot

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: July 29, 2025

Key Takeaways

Vincent Mazzotta pleaded guilty to a $13 million crypto scam and could face up to 15 years in prison when sentenced on December 15;
From 2017 to 2023, Mazzotta and a partner ran fake crypto firms using AI claims and false identities to lure in investors;
After the initial scam, victims were tricked again by a fake recovery group that charged extra fees for fake investigations.

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Crypto Conman Faces 15 Years After $13 Million Fake Investment Plot

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A man from Arizona has pleaded guilty to taking part in a cryptocurrency scam that collected more than $13 million from victims over several years.

On July 28, Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. admitted in federal court to laundering money and trying to stop an investigation. The announcement came from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

Mazzotta's sentencing is set for December 15. He could be sentenced to as many as 15 years in federal prison.

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From 2017 to 2023, Mazzotta worked with David Gilbert Saffron, an Australian citizen, to run a group of fake investment firms. These companies included names like Mind Capital and Cloud9Capital.

They promised high returns by using automated trading systems and claimed the technology was powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Court documents showed that Mazzotta used several false names when communicating with investors. Some of these included "Vincent Midnight", "Delta Prime", and "Director Vinchenzo".

Instead of investing the funds, the pair spent the money on expensive goods and services. This included private jet trips, rental homes in upscale neighborhoods, security staff, and luxury hotels.

Later, they created another fake group called the Federal Crypto Reserve. It was designed to appear as an official agency that assists individuals in recovering lost funds.

Victims who had already lost money were asked to pay more to support so-called investigations into the companies that had stolen from them.

On July 24, Christina Marie Chapman, a freelancer from Arizona with over 100,000 TikTok followers, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. What happened? Read the full story.