A fake crypto influencer from New York received 15 months in prison for a $1.4 million staking scam.
Another high-profile sentence in the world of crypto fraud: 39-year-old New York resident Noman Salim has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. The scheme he pulled off is a classic example of social engineering, but with a crypto twist. Salim impersonated well-known crypto influencers and lured victims into fake staking programs via Telegram.
Judge Deborah C. Chasanow also ordered three years of supervised release after his prison term. The fraud lasted from December 2020 until at least March 2021. Salim pleaded guilty in September 2025.
How the Identity Theft Scheme Worked
In 2020, Salim copied the username of a popular crypto influencer on Telegram. Thousands of users subscribed to his public channel. He then created a paid VIP chat with a subscription fee of $500–600 in cryptocurrency. Participants believed they were communicating directly with the real expert.
Later, he duplicated the scheme using the username of a second influencer, expanding his audience. Victims were offered staking with fixed returns for periods of 30 to 90 days, with higher payouts promised for large deposits. Naturally, Salim never invested any funds into real protocols.
Money and Sentence
Victims transferred cryptocurrency to wallets controlled by the fraudster. After receiving the assets, he cut off contact and disappeared. The investigation showed that the scheme generated at least $1.4 million in cryptocurrencies and U.S. dollars. Salim returned most of this amount to the government as part of a plea deal.
This case is a stark illustration of the growing wave of fraud exploiting trust in public figures on social media. U.S. authorities continue to actively pursue criminals, even when they hide behind anonymous crypto wallets.
Expert opinion: This story is a harsh reminder: even if a Telegram channel looks authentic and has thousands of subscribers, that is no guarantee of safety. Trusting your assets to strangers promising guaranteed returns is a sure way to lose everything. Always verify identities through independent channels, or better yet, manage your own funds yourself.