Crypto
Westport man pleads guilty to stealing $4.5M from cryptocurrency firm
WESTPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — A Westport man who once served as a vice president of a cryptocurrency firm has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $4.4 million from them.
Dylan Meissner, 31, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and faces up to 20 years in prison.
He was the vice president of finance at a cryptocurrency research firm in January 2022 when he received a $170,000 loan from the business to try to “avoid a substantial loss in certain cryptocurrency investments he had made using his personal funds,” according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Then, from February 2022 until he was fired in November 2022, he tried to make up for other losses by using the firm’s funds as his own. He then covered up the fraud by making false entries in business records.
In total, he took $4,461,828. He’s been ordered to pay $4,633,424.99 in restitution.
He has been released on a $100,000 bond and will be sentenced on Oct. 11