A federal grand jury has indicted Benjamin Paul Wiener, 43, on 29 counts related to an alleged Ponzi scheme that drained approximately $20 million from investors in both cash and digital assets. The charges include wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, painting a picture of a multi-year operation that prosecutors say was built on classic Ponzi mechanics: pay old investors with new investors’ money, and pocket whatever’s left.

Wiener, a resident of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on July 10, 2026. He was released on bond and is scheduled to stand trial on September 15, 2026.

How the scheme allegedly worked

Wiener allegedly operated through a cluster of entities known as the Benaiah entities, which he founded or controlled dating back to at least 2018. These vehicles were marketed to investors as hedge fund-like opportunities with a primary focus on digital assets.

According to federal investigators, the Benaiah entities collected roughly $25.1 million from investors. Of that total, about $12 million was returned to investors, likely in the form of fabricated “returns” designed to keep the scheme running. Prosecutors allege that around $5.7 million was transferred directly to Wiener for personal use.

The alleged fraud wasn’t limited to misleading investors about returns. In April 2025, Wiener reportedly obtained a $1 million bank line of credit using falsified documents and someone else’s identity, which explains the aggravated identity theft charge sitting alongside the financial fraud counts.

How it unraveled

By mid-2025, investor complaints were piling up and liquidity was drying out. By August 2025, a receiver was appointed to dig into the Benaiah entities and figure out where the money went. That receiver’s findings reportedly confirmed what many investors feared: the operation bore all the hallmarks of a textbook Ponzi scheme.

Multiple investor lawsuits have been filed since mid-2025, with victims spanning South Dakota and Minnesota. The IRS Criminal Investigation division and the FBI both played active roles in building the federal case. The 29-count indictment was handed up in June 2026 as the culmination of that joint investigation. Wire fraud alone carries a maximum sentence of 20 years per count, and aggravated identity theft adds a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.