A new lawsuit claims JPMorgan Chase provided critical banking infrastructure for a $328 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. The case raises fresh scrutiny over how traditional financial institutions monitor large digital asset flows.
The proposed class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiff Robby Alan Steele alleges the bank acted as the sole banking partner for Goliath Ventures between January 2023 and mid-2025.
The complaint claims more than 2,000 investors were affected. Steele says he personally lost $650,000 after investing funds that included withdrawals from his retirement account.
Did Compliance Systems Miss Key Fraud Signals?
According to the filing, approximately $253 million flowed into a JPMorgan account tied to Goliath Ventures during the alleged scheme. Roughly $123 million was later transferred to cryptocurrency wallets held at Coinbase, which the complaint describes as a strategic partner of the bank.
Federal prosecutors have already charged Goliath CEO Christopher Delgado in a related criminal case. Authorities allege the operation promised profits from crypto trading and arbitrage while using new investor deposits to pay earlier participants.
About $50 million in payments were sent back to investors as purported returns, according to the complaint. Plaintiffs argue those transfers were funded primarily by incoming deposits rather than legitimate investment profits.
“From a bank’s perspective, the fraudulent scheme was obvious,” the complaint states.
It alleges JPMorgan ignored common warning signs including circular payment patterns, rapid cash flows, and commingled investor funds.
The filing also references public statements by Jamie Dimon criticizing cryptocurrencies, arguing the bank was aware of fraud risks tied to digital asset markets. Despite that awareness, the lawsuit claims JPMorgan continued servicing accounts linked to the alleged scheme.
Plaintiffs further argue the bank’s monitoring systems, including the Actimize transaction-analysis platform, should have detected suspicious activity. The complaint asserts claims for aiding and abetting fraud, negligence, unjust enrichment, and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law.
The case now moves toward potential class certification and discovery, a stage that could expose how large financial institutions monitor cryptocurrency-related transactions across traditional banking infrastructure.
