Long Island Father-Son Duo Sentenced in $12M Crypto Fraud Case

A New York federal judge has sentenced a Long Island father-son pair to prison for orchestrating a $12 million cryptocurrency investment scam. Austin, the ringleader, received an 18-year term plus three years supervised release after September 2024 convictions for wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. His son Brandon faced sentencing on identical charges before District Judge P. Kevin Castel.

The scheme preyed on friends, startups and small businesses with false promises of lucrative crypto and forex returns. Prosecutors revealed the operation ran for years, using fabricated investor networks to siphon funds. While the indictment didn’t specify affected cryptocurrencies, the case underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of investment fraud in digital asset markets.