PANews, June 24 – According to The Block, New York man Noman Saleem has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for impersonating a cryptocurrency influencer to commit fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland stated that Saleem pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges last September, admitting he created fake Telegram accounts mimicking well-known cryptocurrency influencers, attracted thousands of people to join his channels, and set up paid “VIP sub-channels” to further collect money.

Prosecutors said Saleem lured multiple victims into transferring digital assets to wallets he controlled under the pretense of offering staking rewards, but never actually conducted any staking operations. After obtaining the funds, he cut off contact and disappeared with the money. The victims included at least one Maryland resident, and the total amount involved exceeded $1.4 million. The U.S. government has recovered most of the defrauded funds.