Victims of alleged Ponzi scheme file lawsuit against JPMorgan over purported $328 million fraud.

The proposed class action lawsuit claims that Chase provided “the essential banking infrastructure” for the alleged fraud perpetrated by Goliath Ventures, despite apparent warning signs that purportedly made the scheme “obvious.”

The lawsuit alleges that the bank facilitated the Ponzi scheme. JPMorgan (Credit: Ikechukwu Julius Ugwu-Wikimedia Commons/Modified by Coindesk)

What to know:

• Investors in Goliath Ventures have initiated a proposed class action in federal court located in Northern California, accusing JPMorgan Chase of enabling a $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme by overlooking evident warning signs.
• The complaint asserts that JPMorgan served as Goliath’s exclusive bank, managing approximately $253 million in deposits from January 2023 to June 2025 and facilitating transfers to Coinbase along with alleged investor returns that should have indicated the fraud.
• The suit references the recent arrest of Goliath operator Christopher Alexander Delgado on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, arguing that JPMorgan’s involvement contradicts CEO Jamie Dimon’s public denunciation of cryptocurrencies.

JPMorgan Chase has been sued by investors in Goliath Ventures, with a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that the bank failed to recognize “red flags” associated with the allegedly deceptive crypto pool and thereby contributed to what the complaint describes as a $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme impacting over 2,000 individuals.

Submitted in federal court in the Northern District of California on Wednesday, the complaint alleges that Chase “provided the essential banking infrastructure through which the Ponzi scheme operated,” processing investor deposits, facilitating transfers, and enabling payments that supposedly “created the false appearance of legitimate profits.”

Florida resident Christopher Alexander Delgado was taken into custody last month by federal authorities on wire fraud and money laundering charges related to his management of Goliath. That criminal case is currently in its initial stages.

“Numerous red flags made the fraudulent nature of the scheme obvious and known to Chase,” Wednesday’s proposed class action asserts. “Despite those red flags, Chase turned a blind eye and continued servicing the accounts used to perpetrate the fraud, earning substantial fees from the hundreds of millions of dollars it processed through Goliath and Delgado’s banking activities at Chase.”

A JPMorgan spokesperson informed CoinDesk that the bank would “decline to comment.”

The complaint, submitted by Robby Alan Steele through his legal representatives at Shaw Lewenz and co-counsel, indicates that JPMorgan was the sole banking provider for Goliath. It further states that around $253 million was deposited into a Chase account connected to Goliath from January 2023 to June 2025. Approximately $123 million was transferred from that account to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, while about $50 million was disbursed to investors as claimed returns.

The lawsuit, which does not specify a precise damages amount, repeatedly contends that the bank should have detected the alleged fraud based solely on the flow of funds.

“From a bank’s perspective, the fraudulent scheme was obvious,” the complaint stated. “A fraudulent scheme of this scale cannot be conducted surreptitiously through a single bank.”

The suit also references JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s public criticism of cryptocurrencies, suggesting it contradicts the bank’s alleged actions.

“Despite Dimon’s long history of denouncing cryptocurrency,” the complaint noted, Chase “knowingly allowed a bank customer—Goliath—to commingle investors’ funds at Chase” and utilized money from later investors to compensate earlier ones “in a classic Ponzi scheme fashion.”