Crypto firm Goliath Ventures files for bankruptcy after CEO arrested over alleged $328M Ponzi scheme

Goliath Ventures' downfall casts a spotlight on the lavish misuse of funds by executives.

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Add us on Google by Vivian Nguyen Mar. 28, 2026

Florida-based crypto firm Goliath Ventures has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the arrest of its chief executive, Christopher Delgado, who is facing federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that siphoned at least $328 million from more than 2,000 investors.

According to a recent filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, the firm’s liabilities may reach as high as $500 million, with between $1 million and $10 million available for repayment.

A number of major companies are being subpoenaed in connection with the Goliath Ventures Ponzi scheme to determine their role in handling investor funds and whether they were aware of suspicious activity.

Investors in Goliath Ventures are targeting JPMorgan Chase in a class action, claiming the bank enabled a $328 million Ponzi scheme.

According to a complaint filed earlier this month, Delgado routed most funds through a key Chase account, paying returns to earlier investors and diverting millions to himself. The suit alleges the bank failed to detect the fraud despite monitoring systems and regulatory obligations, and it seeks damages for all affected investors.

Criminal charges against Delgado

Delgado, a 34-year-old resident of Apopka, Florida, was taken into custody on February 24 following a criminal complaint filed by the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

According to the complaint, Delgado ran Goliath Ventures, previously known as Gen-Z Venture Firm, from January 2023 through January 2026, luring victims with fabricated claims that their capital would be deployed into crypto liquidity pools and generate consistent returns.

Prosecutors allege that the promised yields ranged from roughly 3% to 8% on an annual basis.

In reality, investigators say, the vast majority of incoming funds were recycled to pay early participants or diverted to cover lavish corporate expenditures, luxury travel, and Delgado’s personal real estate portfolio, which federal authorities say includes four properties valued between $1.15 million and $8.5 million each.

Early warnings and independent investigations

Red flags surrounding Goliath’s operations began surfacing publicly in late 2025, when monthly distributions to investors reportedly slowed and then halted altogether.

Stephen Findeisen, the YouTube investigator known as Coffeezilla, confronted Delgado directly about the missed payments in January.

I asked the founder, Chris Delgado about the lack of distributions to investors, and he replied "operations will be back to normal… Dec 15th-18th".

It's been a month and payments have reportedly not resumed. pic.twitter.com/3TGnQxYJhA

— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) January 25, 2026

By early February, investigative journalist Danny De Hek was publicly cataloging suspected distribution wallets and calling on victims, insiders, and whistleblowers to share transaction records, screenshots, and on-chain data to help trace the flow of funds.

The crowd-sourced forensic effort identified multiple wallet addresses believed to have been used for periodic payouts, and analysts flagged patterns consistent with early insider withdrawals and so-called dusting activity.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.