- Jeremy Jordan-Jones has been charged with fraud for allegedly misleading investors with fake blockchain partnerships and misusing over $1M in funds.
- Prosecutors say Amalgam never had real products or deals, and Jordan-Jones faces up to 82 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Jeremy Jordan-Jones, the self-proclaimed founder of a now-defunct crypto startup called Amalgam, has been charged with fraud after allegedly swindling investors out of over $1 million by promoting a “sham blockchain” backed by fictitious high-profile partnerships.
Federal prosecutors say Jordan-Jones falsely claimed Amalgam had deals with major sports franchises, including the Golden State Warriors and a Premier League soccer team, as well as a restaurant conglomerate with over 500 outlets, in a bid to attract investor funding. None of these partnerships ever existed.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the entrepreneur used these fabrications to paint Amalgam as a blockchain innovator in the payments space, supposedly developing point-of-sale systems backed by crypto infrastructure. He also told investors that their money would help list Amalgam’s crypto token, which was never launched.
“Jordan-Jones, capitalizing on the publicity around blockchain technology, perpetrated a brazen scheme to defraud investors,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “In reality, Jordan-Jones’s company was a sham, and investors’ funds were siphoned off to bankroll his lavish lifestyle.”
Moreover, prosecutors allege that instead of developing products, Jordan-Jones used the funds for personal luxuries, including high-end hotels and restaurants in Miami, designer clothing, and car payments. One of the duped investors reportedly included Brown Venture Group, a VC firm previously profiled by Forbes in 2022.
In addition to deceiving investors, Jordan-Jones is also accused of submitting falsified documents to a financial institution to fraudulently obtain a corporate credit card, racking up a $350,000 balance before the bank shut down the account.
Jordan-Jones now faces four federal charges: wire fraud, securities fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, and aggravated identity theft.
If convicted on all counts, he could serve a maximum sentence of 82 years in prison. The identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years.
The case adds to a growing list of crypto-related fraud prosecutions, underscoring how the promise of blockchain innovation can be weaponized to lure investors.
Prosecutors are using the Amalgam saga as a warning.
“This should be an example to would-be financial fraudsters,” said Clayton. “The women and men of the Southern District and the FBI are watching… Fraudsters often use the promise of new technology to cloak their schemes.”
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
