The CEO of an Orlando cryptocurrency firm and former Orange County commission candidate is accused of operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of at least $328 million, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Christopher Alexander Delgado, 34, of Apopka, was arrested Tuesday on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. He served as the founder, president and CEO of the blockchain firm Goliath Ventures, which is headquartered in downtown Orlando.
Delgado had been known in Central Florida for his philanthropic pursuits. One of his purported victims in the scheme told investigators that Delgado’s public association with charities and community events led him to trust Goliath’s legitimacy, court records show.
Prosecutors said Delgado allegedly operated the scheme from January 2023 to January 2026. It involved soliciting victims to invest substantial sums of money under false and fraudulent promises of monthly returns generated through cryptocurrency “liquidity pools,” according to the release.
Victims were induced to give money to Goliath through personal referrals, professional marketing materials, luxury events, charitable sponsorships and some monthly payments of purported returns, all of which were designed to establish Goliath’s “bona fides” with investors, the release said.
But federal prosecutors said while Goliath fraudulently obtained at least $328 million from investors, only about $1 million was ever placed into a liquidity pool.
The funds were instead primarily used to pay purported returns to earlier investors, to return principal to investors who requested it and for Goliath’s “extravagant” business gatherings, holiday parties, and luxury travel accommodations, the release said.
Delgado would also use the funds for personal expenditures, including the purchase of residential properties in Windemere, Winter Park, Kissimmee and Sanford that were each worth between $1.15 million and $8.5 million, court documents show.
Prosecutors say Delgado and his co-conspirators took various steps to hide the scheme, such as providing investors with fabricated statements about their investments.
Beginning in late 2025, when investors attempted to withdraw their principal investments or purported returns, Goliath would delay payments, provide shifting explanations and restricted or ended investor access to information about their investments, records show.
One investor who lives in Seminole County said he lost around $720,000 in the scheme. An acquaintance had told him he had invested about $1 million with Goliath and was making consistent returns, leading the two men to subsequently meet with a Goliath representative. The man was then told about the opportunity to invest in the liquidity pools, according to court records.
He ultimately made a “joint venture agreement” signed by Delgado in June 2023, records show, that falsely represented that the funds would be invested in liquidity pools. Prosecutors say such agreements made between Goliath and victim investors were often signed by Delgado.
The investor said he later met Delgado through his own involvement in an unnamed charitable organization for which Delgado was a major sponsor. Delgado’s public association with charities led him to trust Goliath’s legitimacy, records show.
Last year, Delgado pledged to donate $2 million by the end of 2025 to the Angel Army drug abuse prevention and awareness initiative launched in July by several organizations. One of those groups was Victoria’s Voice, the nonprofit founded by the late Westgate Resorts founder David Siegel and his wife Jacqueline Siegel.
In an August interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Delgado said he had was motivated to donate to the initiative because of his uncle’s struggle with drug addiction. Delgado also said he went to Washington D.C. and attended U.S. President Donald Trump’s signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act at the White House with Jacqueline Siegel.
A spokesperson for Delgado at the time said Delgado was also advising lawmakers on new crypto legislation during his time in D.C.
Delgado made his first court appearance Tuesday and a federal judge granted a request from Delgado releasing him from custody, according to court records.
Delgado had also dabbled directly in politics, having made a failed bid for a seat on the Orange County Board of Commissioners in 2022. He came in a distant third in a race won by Commissioner Christine Moore.
“My promise to you is that I will always vote in favor of the best interest to my community and vote no on anything that would negatively effect you!” Delgado said on his campaign website.
