New York man sentenced for $1.4 million crypto fraud scheme using bogus influencer accounts

A New York man who posed as crypto influencers on Telegram and used false promises of staking rewards to collect more than $1.4 million from victims was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Noman Saleem, 39, to 15 months behind bars and three years of supervised release. Prosecutors said he targeted investors, including at least one person in Maryland, by claiming he could generate returns through cryptocurrency staking.

Saleem pleaded guilty in September 2025 to wire fraud charges and admitted to creating fake Telegram handles to imitate popular crypto influencers, where thousands of people joined his channel. Saleem also created a "VIP sub channel" that people paid for.

Prosecutors say he convinced several people to send crypto to virtual wallets that Saleem himself owned and controlled, under the premise that he would offer staking rewards, but then never actually staked any digital assets.

"The victims invested with Saleem under the guise of a crypto staking or crypto investment opportunity with guaranteed returns," the attorney's office said in the statement. "After Saleem took control of the victims’ crypto, he ceased communicating with them and disappeared with their crypto."

The U.S. government seized most of the $1.4 million in losses, prosecutors said.