Georgia Man Charged Over Alleged $165 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Two separate crypto-adjacent fraud cases surfaced in the same news cycle, and the sources do not describe a single event. The SEC's release states it charged Ernest Ossei Boateng and two New Jersey companies he controls, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP, over an alleged Ponzi scheme that raised approximately $16 million from more than 200 inexperienced investors between at least January 2020 and at least March 2026. Separately, news reporting says New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a $1.37 billion judgment against the operators of NovaTech and predecessor AWS Mining, schemes that allegedly took in more than $1 billion from hundreds of thousands of investors worldwide. A headline figure of $165 million appears in neither source.

Background

The SEC's release describes a scheme allegedly marketed primarily to Christians of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey, many with no prior investing experience. According to the complaint, Boateng told investors their money would earn guaranteed fixed returns under a low-risk strategy. Instead, the SEC alleges he misappropriated more than $5.8 million for personal expenses, including buying, renovating and furnishing his home, and used approximately $6.6 million for Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. To the limited extent money was invested, the complaint alleges high-risk, speculative day trading that produced more than $750,000 in trading losses. Thomas P. Smith, Jr., Associate Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office, said investors included retirees, taxi drivers, home health care providers, students, an ailing widow with young children, and at least two churches and one prayer group, and that the pitch assured victims their money was protected by so-called 'financial, investment insurance.' The Bitcoin Magazine report describes a different matter: AWS Mining sold crypto mining contracts promising 15 to 20 percent monthly returns and 200 percent within 15 months before collapsing in 2019; the Petions then launched NovaTech, promising weekly trading returns of two to four percent, more than 140 percent a year, which prosecutors say were fabricated. Promoters recruited heavily in Haitian and other immigrant communities through prayer groups, WhatsApp chats and Haitian Creole ads.

What happened

The SEC's release states that it charged Boateng and his two New Jersey-based companies, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP, alleging they raised approximately $16 million from more than 200 inexperienced investors through a Ponzi scheme operated from at least January 2020 until at least March 2026. According to the SEC's complaint, Boateng solicited, recommended and sold interests in an alleged investment fund, telling investors their investments would generate guaranteed fixed returns and that the fund would pursue a low-risk strategy. The complaint alleges he instead misappropriated more than $5.8 million for personal expenses, including the purchase, renovation and furnishing of his home, and used approximately $6.6 million for Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. Where he did invest, the complaint alleges high-risk, speculative day trading that led to more than $750,000 in trading losses. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charges the defendants with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and charges Boateng and Intercontinental with violating antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with pre-judgment interest, civil penalties against all defendants, and conduct-based injunctions against Boateng and Intercontinental. Separately, Bitcoin Magazine reports that New York Attorney General Letitia James is trying to secure a $1.37 billion judgment against the operators of NovaTech and AWS Mining. The report says alleged founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion never appeared in court and, according to the AG's office, fled the country. James said the schemes targeted immigrant and religious communities. The report says B2Broker records show that of more than $1 billion deposited between 2019 and 2023, only about $26 million was ever actually traded, and NovaTech's traders lost $18.2 million of that. The AG is also seeking $134.5 million the Petions allegedly withdrew to their own wallets plus $4.7 million tied to AWS Mining. A default judgment entered in August 2025 already bars the couple and their companies from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries, and four top promoters agreed to pay nearly $6 million in disgorgement and accepted the same industry bans.

Market impact

Neither source reports any price, trading volume or fund-flow data for bitcoin or any other asset, so no market reaction can be measured from these texts. The only monetary figures present are case-specific. The SEC's release cites approximately $16 million raised from more than 200 investors, more than $5.8 million allegedly misappropriated, approximately $6.6 million in alleged Ponzi-like payments, and more than $750,000 in alleged trading losses. The Bitcoin Magazine report cites more than $1 billion deposited by investors between 2019 and 2023, only about $26 million actually traded, $18.2 million lost by NovaTech's traders, a $1.37 billion judgment sought by the New York Attorney General, $134.5 million allegedly withdrawn to the Petions' own wallets, $4.7 million tied to AWS Mining, and nearly $6 million in disgorgement agreed by four top promoters. The report also cites promised returns of 15 to 20 percent monthly and 200 percent within 15 months at AWS Mining, and weekly returns of two to four percent, more than 140 percent a year, at NovaTech. The sources describe no listed crypto asset, exchange or DeFi protocol as a party, so any read-across to digital-asset markets is inference rather than reported fact.

Why it matters

The sources support several consequences. For the SEC matter, the complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with pre-judgment interest, civil penalties against all defendants, and conduct-based injunctions against Boateng and Intercontinental; the release does not state any finding or admission of wrongdoing. For the New York matter, the report says a default judgment entered in August 2025 already bars the Petions and their companies from the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries, and that four top promoters agreed to pay nearly $6 million in disgorgement and accepted the same industry bans. The report also says tens of thousands of investors could not withdraw funds when NovaTech collapsed in mid-2023. Both sources emphasise targeting of religious and immigrant communities: the SEC's Smith cites churches, a prayer group and an ailing widow, while James says the schemes targeted immigrant and religious communities with promises of a better life. The SEC release also flags 'financial, investment insurance' claims as a red flag, and the report's B2Broker figures illustrate how little investor money was actually traded.