Federal prosecutors say that Instagram influencer Jay Mazini was charged with wire fraud for allegedly scheming and defrauding his followers of $2.5 million in Bitcoin.
According to the federal complaint, Mazini–real name Jebara Igbara–told his nearly 1 million Instagram followers to send him Bitcoin in exchange for wire transfers of cash, and allegedly never sent the money.
The lawsuit states Igbara who claimed to have a net worth of $33 million, tried to purchase Bitcoin from his Instagram followers for more than market value. He allegedly sent falsified documents confirming that he sent a wire transfer to followers who decided to give him Bitcoin. The wire transfers never arrived, according to prosecutors, and bank records indicate Igbara did not have sufficient funds in the wire transfer account to complete the transaction.
FBI Assistant Director, William F. Sweeney said in a statement, “As we allege, Igbara’s social media persona served as a backdrop for enticing victims to sell him their Bitcoin at attractive, but inflated, values. A behind-the-scenes look, however, revealed things aren’t always as they seem.” He continued, “There was nothing philanthropic about the Bitcoin transactions Igbara engaged in with his victims. A quick search of the Interwebs today will reveal an entirely different image of this multimillion-dollar scammer.”
According to the lawsuit, Igbara’s suspected scheme occurred between January and March. “Can you sue ‘influencers’ like Jay Mazini when they pledge X amount of cash if you order X amount of product?” one Reddit user asked in a December thread which elicited a variety of responses.
Another Reddit user posted, “This guy is going to end up in prison by the end of 2021…so I wouldn’t worry about suing,” the user added. “I’m sure there will be a class action lawsuit at some point next year as well. It happens to all of them eventually, especially when they are scamming this much money.”
Igbara’s famous Instagram account seems to have been removed, but other Instagram accounts with names like “Jay Mazini is a Scam” and “Jay Mazini Is Cancelled” still exist.
The investigation is underway, according to the lawsuit, and Igbara is currently being held in New Jersey, with his first court appearance set for an undetermined date.
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