A man who impersonated crypto influencers on Telegram has been sentenced to 15 months in prison by a court.
A U.S. federal court has sentenced 39-year-old Noman Salim of Queens and Levittown to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for creating a sophisticated investment scheme on Telegram, where he impersonated well-known crypto influencers.
How the Fake Staking Empire Worked
The scheme operated from December 2020 to March 2021. Salim began by copying the username of a popular crypto influencer on Telegram. His public channel quickly gained thousands of subscribers, after which he created a paid VIP chat. The entry fee ranged from $500 to $600 in cryptocurrency. Participants believed they were communicating directly with a real expert.
Salim then repeated the trick with the username of a second well-known influencer, allowing him to significantly expand his audience. Victims were offered staking contracts with fixed returns for periods of 30 to 90 days. Particularly attractive terms were promised for large deposits. However, as the investigation established, Salim never placed the received funds into real staking pools.
Financial Outcome and Verdict
Victims transferred cryptocurrency to wallets controlled by the fraudster. After receiving the assets, Salim cut off all contact and disappeared. According to the investigation, the scheme brought him at least $1.4 million in cryptocurrency and U.S. fiat dollars over several months. As part of a plea deal, he returned most of this amount to the state.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow. Salim pleaded guilty in September 2025. This case is a stark example of the growing wave of fraud exploiting trust in public figures on social media and demonstrates that authorities continue to actively pursue criminals hiding behind anonymous crypto wallets.
Analyst's comment: Such schemes are a classic example of social engineering in the crypto industry. Investors should remember: no self-respecting influencer will offer "guaranteed income" through paid Telegram chats. If you are promised fixed returns in a decentralized world, that is the first and biggest red flag.