The Orlando cryptocurrency firm at the center of the massive Ponzi scheme allegedly run by Christopher Delgado filed for bankruptcy last week, showing the potential for at least 1,500 victims and up to $500 million owed.
Prosecutors say Delgado’s Goliath Ventures firm, based in Central Florida, defrauded investors of at least $328 million. Delgado, 34, was arrested last month and faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
Banking giants JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, along with prominent cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, have been subpoenaed in the bankruptcy case, documents filed in federal bankruptcy court in South Florida show. Attorneys want to know about those businesses’ interactions with Goliath.
The March 16 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was made by Miami attorney Michael Budwick, whom a Broward County Circuit Court judge appointed to take control of Goliath following Delgado’s arrest.
The company’s assets are estimated at between $1 million and $10 million, and its liabilities are estimated at between $100 million and $500 million, the bankruptcy petition says.
“Upon information and belief, there are 1,500 (or more) victims of Mr. Delgado’s criminal activity who will assert claims against the Debtors,” other bankruptcy filings say.
The bankruptcy petition also lists 20 of the creditors with the largest financial claims against Goliath, all but one of whom are listed as a potential victim of fraud by Delgado.
The creditor with the largest claim is a Bradenton man who claims he is owed $8.7 million. The other victims listed include people in Canada, Georgia, Virginia and Ohio. An Altamonte Springs company claims it is owed $40,000 for surveillance services.
Prosecutors say Delgado lived the high life on other people’s money, misappropriating investors’ funds to buy million-dollar homes, luxury cars and fancy watches, among other items. He’s now free on bond but must mostly remain at his Isleworth home, a seven-bedroom, golf course mansion he bought for $8.5 million last summer.
Some of Goliath’s investors have already filed lawsuits seeking money they claim they lost with the firm. That includes the Bradenton investor and John Euliano, a major donor to the University of Central Florida and the namesake of the school’s baseball stadium, who is suing for at least $1.2 million in damages.
Euliano declined via text a request for comment Monday.
Another investor has sued JPMorgan, alleging it enabled Goliath’s scheme and ignored red flags the firm was running a Ponzi scheme. That lawsuit says Goliath had accounts with JPMorgan and Coinbase.
Budwick, whose law firm handles bankruptcy and Ponzi scheme cases, was placed in charge of Goliath at the request of four investors. As Goliath’s “receiver,” Budwick is empowered to secure Goliath’s assets to ensure they can be used to pay the company’s investors and anyone else to whom it owes money.
As of Thursday, Budwick was still seeking records relating to Goliath and its finances from former management, third parties and federal authorities who can help identify its assets.
A meeting of Goliath creditors will be held by phone on April 22 and any creditors who wish to file a proof of claim against Goliath have until May 26 to do so. Records show 55 claims have been filed against Goliath to date.