Lawsuit claims JPMorgan Chase accounts served as ‘exclusive vehicle’ in $328 million crypto ponzi

JPMorgan Chase faces a proposed class action alleging it provided the essential banking infrastructure for a $328 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme operated by Goliath Ventures, according to a complaint filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit, brought by plaintiff Robby Alan Steele on behalf of more than 2,000 investors, claims the bank served as the “sole banking institution” for Goliath from January 2023 through May or June 2025. Steele, a California resident, alleges he lost $650,000 in the scheme, including $310,000 in cash and $340,000 withdrawn from his 401(k) retirement account after paying associated taxes.

Goliath marketed “joint venture agreements” to investors nationwide, promising profits from cryptocurrency trading strategies and digital-asset arbitrage, the complaint states. In reality, federal prosecutors allege in a separate criminal case that the operation functioned as a classic Ponzi scheme, using new investor funds to pay earlier investors. The U.S. arrested Goliath CEO Christopher Delgado on Feb. 24.

According to the filing, bank records show that approximately $253 million was deposited into Goliath’s JPMC 0305 account at Chase between January 2023 and June 2025. From that same account, about $123 million was transferred to wallets maintained at Coinbase, JPMorgan’s “strategic partner” under a partnership finalized between 2022 and 2025, the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit further claims that approximately $50 million from the JPMC 0305 account was sent to investors during that period as purported returns. Those outgoing transfers were primarily funded with money from later investors and did not represent profits from any investment activity, according to the filing.

“Chase had actual knowledge of and substantially assisted Goliath’s cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme,” the complaint reads. “From a bank’s perspective, the fraudulent scheme was obvious. A fraudulent scheme of this magnitude cannot be run surreptitiously through one bank. And here, it did not.”

Red flags and monitoring failures

The complaint alleges Chase ignored numerous indicators of fraud that its anti-money-laundering systems should have detected. Federal banking guidance requires financial institutions to maintain customer due diligence programs and file Suspicious Activity Reports when transactions suggest possible fraud or money laundering.

Among the red flags the lawsuit claims Chase overlooked: rapid inflows and outflows of funds, commingling of investor deposits, transfers between related accounts controlled by Delgado, circular payment patterns typical of Ponzi schemes, and the absence of meaningful commercial revenue from actual cryptocurrency trading.

“Chase knew and publicly announced the frequent fraud and financial schemes associated with cryptocurrency,” the filing states, citing public statements by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon dating back to 2017, when he called Bitcoin “a fraud,” through 2024 remarks at the World Economic Forum describing Bitcoin as a “pet rock.”

The complaint notes that Chase uses Actimize, an artificial intelligence and data analytics software platform, to automatically review transactions against customer backgrounds and compliance red flags. Despite these monitoring systems, the bank continued servicing Goliath’s accounts, the lawsuit alleges.

“And, crucially, Chase had more than just these red flags. Chase had actual knowledge of Goliath’s cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme—as is the only logical inference from all of the red flags that Chase ignored. Yet, Chase continued to aid and abet Goliath, anyway,” the filing read.

The lawsuit asserts five claims for relief: aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, negligence, and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law. The plaintiff seeks class certification, compensatory damages, disgorgement of fees and benefits received by Chase, restitution, and other relief.

The complaint demands a jury trial on all counts triable by jury.

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