SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) โ A retired corrections officer in Atlantic County is facing state and federal charges related to a cryptocurrency fraud scheme.
The New Jersey Acting Attorney Generalโs office says 47-year-old John DeSalvo of Marmora was seeking first responders to invest in a digital token known as Blazar, which authorities describe as worthless. Heโs alleged to have said the returns from Blazar would supplement their state pensions.
Prosecutors say the victims would not have invested without deceptive representations from DeSalvo, who profited from the sales, and they certainly wouldnโt have knowingly invested in something they knew was worthless.
According to federal prosecutors, Blazar was a creation of DeSalvoโs. He raised over $620,000 from more than 200 investors. He then sold the bulk of his Blazar tokens, causing the value to drop, which wiped out most of his victimsโ investments.
State and federal authorities took DeSalvo into custody this week. He faces theft by deception and deceptive business practices charges in New Jersey, which come with up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
DeSalvo is also charged with six federal counts, including two counts each of wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, and faces a maximum of 20 years for each offense. Thereโs no date set yet for a court hearing.
