(FOX40.COM) — A man who previously lived in Lodi and South Lake Tahoe was convicted Thursday for a series of crypto schemes following an eight-day federal trial.
The jury found 53-year-old Daniel Chartraw guilty of what prosecutors described as a “wide-ranging” list of crimes involving cryptocurrency companies, a sham business venture and false investment guarantees that defrauded investors of almost $1 million between March 2021 and February 2022.
At the trial, held in the Eastern District of California, prosecutors showed that Chartraw and an associated controlled several financial companies including “Crypto-Pal LLC” and “TDA Global LLC.” He claimed that Crypto-Pal was a crypto trading company and that people would have guaranteed high returns with no risk, along with other false claims.
During the months-long series of scams, Chartraw talked with investors over phone calls, texts, emails and virtual meetings, often using aliases including “Leonard” or “Leon,” prosecutors said.
Chartraw gained victims’ trust, using fake account statements and other lies and misrepresentations, prosecutors said. In some cases, people were referred to Chartraw through friends or family and convinced to transfer cryptocurrencies or cash by false promises that their money would be traded.
However, Chartraw did not invest the funds as he claimed, and investors never received any returns. Prosecutors said the total loss approached $1 million.
The FBI investigated the crypto fraud, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Delaney and J. Douglas Harman prosecuted the case. Chartraw is set to be sentenced Sept. 28, where he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News.
