Connecticut man faces 21 counts in $1M crypto scam

A man from Wolcott, Connecticut, is facing a 21‑count federal indictment after authorities say he defrauded investors of nearly $1 million in a cryptocurrency scheme — funds that were allegedly lost gambling on an offshore platform instead of being invested as promised.

Prosecutors claim that a 24-year-old Elmin Redzepagic stole from multiple victims in a crypto scam. Between May 2021 and March 2025, victims were coerced into sending funds — primarily in Bitcoin — to wallet addresses controlled by Redzepagic.

Redzepagic tricked people by promising them crypto profits that didn’t exist

Authorities say Redzepagic presented himself as a trusted crypto investor who could generate big profits, and people believed him enough to send him their money. Prosecutors say Redzepagic kept the con going by reassuring investors that their money was growing quickly because he made successful crypto investments, so victims sent him even more money. 

But instead of putting the money into real cryptocurrency trades, authorities claim he kept it for himself and even sent a large portion of it to an offshore gambling website. Federal officials say the scheme went on for years, and many people lost all their money.

In an official announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, prosecutors said a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Redzepagic with 21 counts of alleged fraud. They said the victims were misled for a long period before authorities brought the case to court because the scheme began around May 2021 and continued through March 2025. 

Redzepagic took the victims’ money, sent it to a gambling website, and lost it

Prosecutors allege that Elmin Redzepagic took the money people gave him for crypto investments and transferred it to an offshore gambling platform called Stake.com. Authorities say Elmin had no intention whatsoever of using the funds as he had promised investors he would.

Investigators say Redzepagic used Stake.com to receive and hold investor money, and create crypto wallet addresses so that the victims can easily send him Bitcoin directly. Prosecutors also say he sometimes sent out small payments called “lulling payments” back to the victims to make them believe that their money was really earning profits. 

Prosecutors allege that Redzepag gambled with the money on Stake.com, losing most of it, and the victims suffered a net loss of about $950,000  to $1 million. Many people lost both the profits they expected and all the money they invested in the scheme.

Prosecutors say Redzepagic also made several false statements during an interview with IRS Criminal Investigation agents in September 2023. So they charged him with additional offenses on his rap sheet for attempting to mislead the investigators.

Following the investigations, authorities charged Redzepag with a crime. This led to a federal grand jury in New Haven returning an indictment on January 20, 2026, and charging Redzepag on 21 counts.

He was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, eleven counts of international money laundering, and three counts of making false statements to IRS investigators.

Prosecutors say each count of wire fraud and money laundering can carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, while each count of false statement can carry a maximum sentence of 5 years.

Redzepagic pleaded not guilty in federal court in Hartford, and the judge set a $500,000 bond, allowing him to remain free as the case moves forward. Prosecutors also said Redzepagic is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, so an indictment is only an accusation.

The IRS Criminal Investigation Division is leading the investigations, and Assistant US Attorney Susan Wines will be at the forefront of the prosecution.

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