Jebara Igbara, an Instagram influencer, who gained a million followers, was indicted on wire fraud charges related to a cryptocurrency scam, the Justice Department declared on Wednesday. Igbara, also identified as “Jay Mazini,” who claimed a net worth of $33 million and is famous for “cash giveaways,” is accused by the Department of Justice of running a wire fraud scheme. He tricked some of his 1 million followers to transfer him Bitcoin to increase cash offers, which he failed to pay appropriately.
The DoJ issued the charges on March 24, after a complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court the day before. Federal prosecutors elucidated that Igbara offered to wire his followers cash transfers to sell him their Bitcoins at prices higher than market value. As per DoJ documents, the influencer provided to pay followers within 3.5% to 5% over market value for Bitcoin. Thus, declaring conventional crypto exchanges had capped how much Bitcoin he could buy.
Jay Mazini Transferred Falsified Payment Receipts
According to the report, the alleged wire fraud scam took place between January to late February, with the influencers requesting Twitter and Instagram followers. During that time, the price of Bitcoin surged from about $29,000 to over $49,000. As per the complaint, the influencer offered to acquire bitcoin at $52,500, when Bitcoin’s price was around $47,000 on February 14. Moreover, the officials stated that Mazini gained Bitcoin. Still, he sent back falsified payment receipts to follow agreed-upon prices, in which he either failed to send the total amount or never transferred the money.
Federal investigators recognized one of Igbara’s followers, who granted him 50 bitcoins. The scammer guaranteed to transfer back up to $2.5 million, but the victim who participated in the fake offer received less than $500,000 in recovery, said the filing. Recently, Mazini is being held on state charges in New Jersey and will face New York courts at an undetermined date. If sentenced, he faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment. As of the publication time, Jay Mazini’s profile has taken down all posts; however, the reason behind taking down the post is not clear.
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