JPMorgan Chase Facilitated $328M Crypto Ponzi, Lawsuit Alleges
Key Takeaways
- Investors sued JPMorgan Chase for enabling a $328 million Goliath Ventures Ponzi
- Plaintiffs say Chase provided essential banking infrastructure while ignoring obvious AML red flags
- Goliath Ventures allegedly defrauded roughly 2,000 investors
Lawsuit filed against JPMorgan
Investors have filed a proposed federal class-action in the Northern District of California alleging JPMorgan Chase “enabled” a $328 million Ponzi scheme run by Goliath Ventures by providing essential banking infrastructure and processing the scheme’s inflows and outflows through Chase accounts.
“Table of Contents A proposed class action lawsuit has thrust [[LINK_START_0]]JPMorgan Chase[[LINK_END_0]] into the spotlight over allegations the financial institution facilitated a massive cryptocurrency fraud”
The complaint characterizes Chase accounts as the “exclusive vehicle” for the misappropriation of investor funds and says the bank’s role made the fraud possible, framing the lawsuit as a challenge to whether a large bank can be held civilly liable for facilitating crypto-related fraud.
Scale and money flows
The complaint sets out the alleged scale and flow of money: Goliath raised roughly $328 million from more than 2,000 investors, deposited about $253 million into a key Chase account between January 2023 and June 2025, transferred roughly $123 million to Coinbase-linked wallets, and paid only about $50 million back to investors as purported returns.
Plaintiffs portray those transfers and payout patterns as the classic circular cash flows of a Ponzi operation.
Alleged AML failures
Plaintiffs allege Chase ignored obvious anti‑money‑laundering and monitoring red flags—rapid inflows and outflows, circular payments between related accounts, commingling of investor deposits and little evidence of legitimate trading—that bank systems (including Actimize) should have flagged and escalated.
“Alleged Ponzi scheme victims sue JPMorgan for banking supposed $328 million scam The proposed class action suit said Chase provided “the essential banking infrastructure” for Goliath Ventures’ alleged fraud, despite red flags it claims made the scheme “obvious”
The complaint accuses JPMorgan of turning a blind eye to these indicators, allowing the scheme to continue and amplifying investor losses.
Legal claims and damages
The filing seeks class certification and a range of remedies while asserting claims including aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, negligence, and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law; the plaintiff also demands a jury trial.
The complaint highlights individual losses—one plaintiff says he invested roughly $650,000—and points to a parallel federal criminal case and the arrest of Goliath’s CEO as part of the evidentiary backdrop.
Broader implications
Observers and the complaint say the case could have broader consequences for banks’ duties around KYC/AML and when a bank becomes a civil “enabler” of fraud; plaintiffs point to Chase’s role in moving funds to Coinbase and note apparent contradictions between public statements by JPMorgan leadership about crypto and the bank’s alleged conduct.
“Photo: Roman Tiraspolsky/Shutterstock JPMorgan Chase sued for allegedly enabling $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme The lawsuit argues that Chase ignored obvious warning signs and continued processing transactions that allowed the scheme to operate for years”
JPMorgan has declined to comment in reports to date.
