Investors allege JPMorgan Chase helped facilitate the flow of funds in a $328 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme , while a parallel federal criminal case is targeting the founder of Goliath Ventures .
JPMorgan is facing a lawsuit for allegedly allowing the operation of a $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme run by the now-defunct company Goliath Ventures.
On Tuesday, investors filed a proposed class-action lawsuit with the US District Court for the Northern District of California , alleging that JPMorgan ignored suspicious transactions and allowed Goliath to use its banking infrastructure to collect money from investors .
The lawsuit alleges that despite JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon 's repeated public criticism of Bitcoin , the bank allegedly failed to prevent fraudulent cryptocurrency-related money transfers .
“Chase, through its Know Your Customer (KYC) process, effectively knew that Goliath was operating as a private equity cryptocurrency fund manager, investing money on behalf of investors but without the license to sell these investments ,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit focuses on the flow of money through JPMorgan's accounts.
The US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced the arrest of Goliath CEO Christopher Delgado on February 24th. If convicted on all charges, he could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison .
Prosecutors said Goliath Ventures – formerly known as Gen-Z Venture Firm – operated this scheme from January 2023 to January 2026 .
The lawsuit alleges that JPMorgan was the sole bank servicing Goliath from January 2023 to approximately May or June 2025. According to the lawsuit, Goliath obtained at least $328 million from more than 2,000 investors .
The documents also describe how funds were transferred from JPMorgan's account to Goliath's wallets on Coinbase .
According to the lawsuit, between January 2023 and June 2025, approximately $253 million was deposited into account 0305 at JPMorgan , equivalent to nearly two-thirds of the total $328 million provided by investors. Of that amount, approximately $123 million was transferred to Goliath wallets on Coinbase .
US documents also mention an account at Bank of America.
A separate criminal complaint filed by the U.S. government alleges that Goliath also opened a business account at Bank of America .
“Delgado was a co-signer on account BOA 9136 registered under Goliath’s name,” the February 20 complaint stated, adding that Goliath’s directors told at least one investor that Delgado controlled the account .
The complaint also details that investors' funds were primarily deposited into JPMorgan's account 0305 or BOA account 9136 , or transferred directly into Goliath's Coinbase wallets .
The US government stated that Delgado was the sole signatory on Goliath's Coinbase wallets.
There may be additional lawsuits once the victims are identified.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of lawyers from the firms Shaw Lewenz, Sonn Law Group, and Schwartzbaum . The first plaintiff named is Robby Alan Steele , who claims to have invested a total of $650,000 , including retirement funds.
Jordan Shaw, a lawyer for Shaw Lewenz, said more lawsuits are likely to be filed , as the legal team is still identifying additional individuals and organizations that may be involved .
"We are deliberately and precisely selecting our defendants to support the work of the asset recovery manager," Shaw said, adding:
"The goal is not to repeat efforts, but to maximize the likelihood of asset recovery ."
