A grand jury in New Haven returned the 21-count indictment on January 20, and authorities unsealed it this week. Federal prosecutors allege that Elmin Redzepagic promoted himself as a skilled digital asset trader and persuaded people to send him Bitcoin with promises of strong, steady returns.

Investigators say the sales pitch centered on easy profits. Victims were told their cryptocurrency had grown in value and was ready to be withdrawn. But when they tried to cash out, Redzepagic allegedly said they first had to pay “gas fees” or other charges. In some cases, he claimed he worked with a crypto trading group led by someone known only as “The Chef,” who supposedly decided when payouts would be released.

How the alleged Wolcott crypto scheme involving Stake.com unfolded

Court records paint a different picture of where the money went. Rather than placing investors’ Bitcoin into legitimate trades, prosecutors say Redzepagic transferred the funds to accounts on Stake.com, an offshore online gambling platform. Authorities allege that he used the money there to place bets.

By the time the activity ended, investigators estimated the gambling resulted in a net loss of about $950,000 across multiple victims.

The indictment charges Redzepagic with seven counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of international money laundering. He also faces three counts of making false statements to agents with the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division.

If convicted, each wire fraud and money laundering count carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The false statement charges are each punishable by up to five years.

Redzepagic, who recently lived in Florida, appeared Thursday in federal court in Hartford. He pleaded not guilty to all counts. After the hearing, he was released on a $500,000 bond as the case proceeds. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farris presided. 

According to a publicly available roster biography from Southern Connecticut State University, Redzepagic previously played men’s basketball for the school and has ties to Wolcott.

Federal officials pointed out that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Under U.S. law, a defendant is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Authorities say the alleged fraud spanned from about May 2021 through March 2025. During that stretch, victims were directed to send Bitcoin to digital wallet addresses that investigators say Redzepagic controlled.

The IRS Criminal Investigation Division is leading the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Wines is prosecuting the case.

Featured image: Canva

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Court documents unsealed in New Haven lay out allegations that Richard Murray and several others operated the scheme beginning as early as 2018. Investigators say victims were contacted by phone and told they had won a Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. However, authorities allege that before collecting any supposed prize money, the winners first had to send in fees and taxes.

According to prosecutors, those calls were only the beginning.

How authorities allege a Jamaican national operated a sweepstakes fraud scheme

After the initial conversations, the group allegedly mailed forged documents to their targets. The papers were designed to look like official winning notifications from Publishers Clearing House, along with tax forms that appeared to come from the Internal Revenue Service. Investigators say the paperwork was meant to make the story believable and reassure victims that the payments were legitimate.

Many of the people targeted were elderly. Prosecutors say victims mailed cash, checks, or money orders to addresses in Connecticut and other states. In some cases, individuals sent multiple payments after being told additional fees were required.

The indictment describes what authorities call a network of “money mules.” These were people who received funds from victims and then transferred the money to Murray and others, according to prosecutors. Some of those individuals were allegedly misled themselves and believed they were taking part in lawful business transactions.

Federal officials also claim the group recruited others to open bank accounts under different names to move the money. Investigators say some of those accounts were tied to ATM cards used in Jamaica, where cash withdrawals were made from funds generated by the scheme.

A federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment on April 16, 2024. Murray is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

Authorities arrested Murray in Hampton, Georgia, on January 22, 2026. He later appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven on Wednesday (February 11), where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has remained in custody since his arrest.

Prosecutors stress that an indictment is only an allegation. Murray is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.

Anyone who believes they may have been targeted is encouraged to report the incident to federal authorities.

Featured image: Canva

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It’s reported that the scheme would involve abusing stolen identities to conduct bets on vulnerable platforms. Birth dates, Social Security numbers, and more were acquired from online sources, such as the deep web, which regularly hosts reams of stolen data.

Fifth Defendant in Sports Betting Fraud Ring Sentenced

Read more: https://t.co/dgTNqvie2y pic.twitter.com/ranMLKGyVt

— FBI Nashville (@FBI_Nashville) January 22, 2026

Holmes has now been sentenced to prison and will serve the second-longest sentence of the five individuals. He’s been sentenced to 30 months, double that of Lawrence Williams and five times that of two of his other co-conspirators.

Who are the people named in the Tennessee gambling scheme?

The five individuals are:

• Lucas Gilliam, 25, sentenced to 36 months
• LaVonte Holmes, 24, sentenced to 30 months
• Lawrence Williams, 22, sentenced to 15 months
• Nathan Penaflor, 23, sentenced to 6 months
• Joshua Penaflor, 22, sentenced to 6 months

None of the five will be able to get parole, as there isn’t that option at the federal level in the United States.

Speaking in the press release, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said:

“With new and ever-changing technology, applications, and platforms, criminals are using more creative and disturbing ways to commit fraud against vulnerable victims, including identity theft. For these thieves, their bets did not pay off, and were instead parlayed into prison sentences.”

The sentencing has been particularly harsh on Holmes and Gilliam, as it was uncovered that they would travel between states to conduct their scam. They would leave Tennessee in an attempt to grow the scheme.

As such, Chief United States District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman threw the book at all five, who pled guilty to aggravated identity theft, as well as unauthorized use of an access device.

Without parole, Holmes and Gilliam won’t be out of prison until sometime in 2028. The two Penaflors will be out this year, while Williams will be behind bars until 2027.

Featured Image: Via HAL333 on Wikimedia Commons

sydneypools

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Along with the sentencing, the court has also entered an order for forfeiture in the amount of $1,354,757.64, the proceeds of the criminal conduct, and restitution in the amount of $15,028,309.89 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

It was on December 2, 2024, when George Tucker Jr entered a guilty plea, with the update on the sentencing having been provided on December 19 by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida.

According to the update, court documents show that beginning in March 2021, and continuing through to February 2024, the man “engaged in a scheme to defraud the IRS.”

Lakeland man’s tax returns included ‘fabricated figures for gambling winnings and losses’

The press release states: “Tucker prepared or assisted in the preparation of 316 false and fraudulent tax returns for 196 taxpayers, including himself, for tax years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

“The tax returns contained falsified Schedules A, B, 1, and 3, as well as fraudulent Forms W-2G, which contained fabricated figures for gambling winnings and losses, and federal tax withholding amounts (based on the fake gambling winnings). The false tax returns requested substantial refunds from the IRS that the taxpayers were not legally entitled to receive.”

The total intended tax loss from the tax returns the man prepared amounted to $59,941,751, while it’s reported that the actual loss totaled $15,028,309.89, which the IRS paid out to taxpayers either as tax refunds or credits applied to prior debts.

The media release states the man “personally profited $1,354,757.64 in the form of payments from his taxpayer-clients or refunds he received directly from the IRS.” He is said to have used the money to enrich himself, including buying expensive jewelry.

“These defendants spent their days looking for ways to cheat. Those who deliberately exploit our tax system for personal gain will face serious consequences,” said Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker of the IRS Criminal Investigation Florida Field Office. “These prosecutions reflect the dedication of our agents to protecting honest taxpayers and upholding justice for all Americans.”

Featured Image: Lakeland skyline via Butter142 on Wikimedia Commons, CC 4.0 license

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Sarah Behnke, a former Aetna actuary, alleged Caremark defrauded Medicare Part D by causing false drug cost reports to be submitted in 2013 and 2014.

Caremark was found liable in June, and Philadelphia federal court Chief Judge Mitchell Goldberg ordered the company to pay $95 million in damages, deferring final rulings on penalties.

Goldberg, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, tripled the damages on Tuesday, finding Caremark Rx, CaremarkPCS Health and CVS Caremark Part D Services should pay a total of $289.9 million in damages and penalties, according to court documents.

Goldberg also imposed $4.87 million in civil penalties.

“We are pleased that the Behnke ruling in June was in our favor as to certain issues for CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health Corporation’s liability and disappointed the court found against Caremark on other issues. We plan to appeal,” CVS wrote in a statement to FOX Business.

In 2014, Caremark was accused of manipulating how drug costs were reported, prompting Aetna and SilverScript to submit false direct and indirect remuneration reports in 2013 and 2014, according to court records.

A federal judge ordered CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit manager, Caremark, to pay nearly $290 million after a Medicare fraud scheme. Sundry Photography – stock.adobe.com

The scheme, which was allegedly designed to hide profits, led to Medicare Part D being overbilled by $95 million.

While Goldberg did not find “actual knowledge” of the fraud, he found reckless disregard and deliberate ignorance warranting the steep penalties, according to a memorandum.

Caremark argued that the 513 false reports submitted did not justify penalties exceeding the $95 million overcharged, citing the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment and the due process clause.

A whistleblower accused the business of overcharging Medicare on prescription drugs. onephoto – stock.adobe.com

However, Goldberg found a $95 million fraud loss was “certainly significant.”

Citing precedent from a State Farm insurance case in 2003, Goldberg noted due process was not violated because the ratio of penalties to actual damages was substantially lower than previous decisions, according to court documents.

Goldberg also awarded post-judgment interest, which means interest began accruing on the $289.9 million on Tuesday and will continue to accrue until Caremark pays in full.

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The interest will compensate Behnke and the government until CVS pays fully, preventing the company from delaying action.

It is unclear how much of the total award Behnke will receive.

Aetna, Sarah Behnke and US Attorney David Metcalf did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ requests for comment.

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