New York man impersonating a crypto KOL commits $1.4 million scam, sentenced to 15 months in prison

Golden Finance reports that on June 24, a man from New York was sentenced to 15 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for impersonating a cryptocurrency influencer on Telegram and deceiving investors with false staking yields. The 39-year-old Noman Saleem pleaded guilty to telecommunications fraud in September 2025.
Prosecutors stated that he created multiple fake Telegram accounts, impersonated well-known crypto KOLs, and attracted thousands of people to join channels, also setting up paid "VIP sub-channels." Saleem told victims that they could receive "guaranteed returns" through crypto staking or investment opportunities, enticing many to transfer crypto assets into wallets under his control. But prosecutors said he did not actually perform any staking operations; instead, after obtaining the funds, he stopped contact and took the victims' assets.
The case resulted in losses exceeding $1.4 million, and the U.S. government has recovered and seized most of the funds.
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