Satish Kumbhani
Founder of BitConnect, which the U.S. DOJ called a $2.4B Ponzi scheme. Indicted in February 2022 on wire-fraud, money-laundering, and price-manipulation conspiracies, he vanished and remains a fugitive (reportedly traced by Indian authorities to Ahmedabad).
Also known as: Satish Kurjibhai Kumbhani, Vindee
Note: Kumbhani is indicted and a fugitive; the allegations have not been adjudicated.
Bio
Satish Kurjibhai Kumbhani founded BitConnect and built a worldwide network of promoters around its "Lending Program," which the DOJ says was a Ponzi scheme that used new investor money to pay earlier investors, raising approximately $2.4 billion before shutting down in January 2018. [1][2]
Status
Kumbhani was indicted in the Southern District of California on February 25, 2022 (charges including wire fraud, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and conspiracies to commit wire fraud, commodity price manipulation, and international money laundering — up to 70 years). He disappeared shortly after and remains a fugitive; India's Enforcement Directorate has reported tracing him to Ahmedabad. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Sources (2)
See also
Luke BelmarIndividualsCryptocurrency influencer Luke Belmar (@lukebelmar on X) became the subject of controversy following allegations related to the promotion of a memecoin. Critics on social media alleged that Belmar used a series of posts referencing a forthcoming cryptocurrency project and a large-scale airdrop to generate interest in a token without explicitly identifying a specific contract address. Belmar published multiple posts discussing an upcoming memecoin, describing plans for what he characterized as a major airdrop and making comparisons to other cryptocurrency projects. Because no contract address was publicly provided, several tokens emerged claiming association with his statements. Critics alleged that this ambiguity enabled speculation around multiple tokens while avoiding a direct endorsement of any particular asset.
Evolved Apes (NFT)ProjectsAn NFT collection launched on OpenSea in September 2021 that promised a fighting game. About a week later its anonymous developer 'Evil Ape' vanished with 798 ETH (~$2.7M). In June 2024 U.S. prosecutors charged three U.K. nationals over the scheme.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.