NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Officials charged a popular Instagram personality on Tuesday for allegedly scamming his followers out of $2.5 million in Bitcoin, prosecutors said.
Jegara Igbara, also known as "Jay Mazini," was charged with wire fraud on Wednesday in connection to a scheme in which he allegedly "duped" victims to send him Bitcoin by falsely claiming to have sent wire transfers of cash in exchange for the Bitcoin.
"As alleged, Igbara used his immense social media popularity to dupe his followers into selling him Bitcoin," said Acting United States Attorney Lesko. "This Office will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners to stop fraudsters like the defendant from perpetrating social media scams that prey on innocent victims."
Officials said that in January, Igbara began posting videos to his Instagram account offering to buy Bitcoin at 3.5 percent to 5 percent over market value, claiming that traditional cryptocurrency exchanges had capped the quantity he could purchase.
Igbara, 25, who had one million followers before his Instagram account was shut down, never sent the money and instead stole at least $2.5 million worth of Bitcoin from a total of four victims, according to federal prosecutors.
"He sent them documents that included images of purported wire transfer confirmation pages that falsely confirmed Igbara had sent a wire transfer for the promised amounts," Lesko added.
Igbara used his Instagram account to promote his businesses and posted videos where he handed out large amounts of cash to strangers including people waiting to check out at grocery stores and fast-food workers, to show his followers he had "substantial means," according to prosecutors.
A criminal complaint alleges that Igbara told one victim he had a personal fortune of $33 million when he only had $162.60 in his bank account.
"Igbara's social media persona served as a backdrop for enticing victims to sell him their Bitcoin at attractive, but inflated, values," FBI assistant director-in-charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said. "A behind-the-scenes look, however, revealed things aren't always as they seem. There was nothing philanthropic about the Bitcoin transactions Igbara engaged in with his victims. A quick search of the interwebs today will reveal an entirely different image of this multimillion-dollar scammer."
Igbara, an Edgewater resident is currently being held on state charges in New Jersey.
He is expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court on the charges at a later date.
