A Queens, New York, man was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for impersonating crypto influencers in a wire fraud scheme that targeted victims in Maryland and elsewhere, officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland said.
Noman Saleem, 39, of Queens and Levittown, will serve three years of supervised release after prison, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow ruled, according to court documents. Prosecutors said Saleem posed as popular online crypto influencers on Telegram and convinced victims to send cryptocurrency to wallets he controlled.
Authorities said the scheme ran from December 2020 through at least March 2021. Saleem promised crypto staking and investment opportunities with guaranteed returns and urged victims to invest more crypto for higher payouts. After taking control of the funds, he stopped communicating with victims, prosecutors said.
The government said Saleem obtained at least $1,415,067.14 in cash and cryptocurrency. Much of the loss was seized back by authorities, according to the plea agreement.
The first draft of this article was written using AI tools. It was then edited and fact-checked by journalists on the Sun staff before publishing.
