A New York man will serve 15 months in federal prison for posing as crypto influencers on Telegram and steering victims into a fake crypto staking scam.

A federal judge also sentenced Noman Saleem, 39, of Queens and Levittown, to three years of supervised release. The scheme ran from December 2020 through at least March 2021.

How the Crypto Influencer Impersonation Worked

Saleem copied the Telegram handle of a popular crypto influencer in 2020. Thousands of users joined his public channel.

He also built a paid VIP sub-channel, charging roughly $500-$600 in crypto for a subscription. Members could message him directly, which led them to believe he was the real influencer.

In addition, Saleem cloned a second influencer’s handle and used the VIP subscription model here as well. The duplicate identities widened his reach across the messaging app.

He promoted staking rewards with terms of 30 to 90 days. Saleem promised larger payouts for larger deposits, yet he never staked any funds.

The Money Trail and the Sentence

Victims sent crypto to wallets that Saleem owned and controlled. Once he held the assets, he cut contact and disappeared with the funds.

“Saleem engaged in the investment scheme by promoting himself as popular online crypto influencers, convincing several victims to send crypto to virtual wallets that he owned and controlled,” the press release read.

The scheme generated at least $1.4 million in crypto and US dollars. Prosecutors said the government recovered much of that sum through the plea agreement.

US District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow imposed the term, as announced Tuesday by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Saleem had pleaded guilty in September 2025.

The case adds to a growing wave of fraud that exploits trust in social media personalities. It also signals continued federal efforts to pursue impersonation schemes that hide behind crypto’s pseudonymous wallets.

Source: BeInCrypto