Ex-Rugby Player Sentenced For $900K Crypto Mining Ponzi Scheme

A former semi-pro rugby participant who promised buyers day by day returns from a crypto mining enterprise that by no means existed has been sentenced to 2 and a half years in federal jail.

Shane Donovan Moore operated Quantum Donovan LLC from January 2021 to October 2022, throughout which he defrauded over 40 buyers out of greater than $900,000, based on the Division of Justice’s Thursday statement.

Moore claimed the funds can be used to buy crypto mining rigs that will generate 1% day by day returns. 

However as an alternative of shopping for mining rigs, he funneled investor cash into his private accounts to fund a lavish way of life, akin to shopping for luxurious residences, designer baggage, and electronics, whereas utilizing some funds to pay earlier buyers and preserve the Ponzi rip-off working.

“Moore used the novelty of cryptocurrency to commit an age-old fraud—a Ponzi scheme,” Appearing U.S. Lawyer Teal Luthy Miller mentioned. “He left a path of broken relationships in his wake.”

The 37-year-old Seattle rugby participant focused fellow rugby gamers throughout Washington, Utah, Oregon, Connecticut, and New Jersey, exploiting private belief to recruit victims who misplaced greater than $387,000 in whole.

To take care of the phantasm, Moore used among the investor cash to buy crypto and repay small sums to early individuals, which helped recruit further victims, based on the assertion.

U.S. District Choose Tana Lin famous throughout sentencing that Moore “brought about emotional and psychological injury to the victims” past monetary hurt.

“These scams run on false hope and excessive returns,” Karan Pujara, founding father of the rip-off protection platform ScamBuzzer, beforehand advised Decrypt. “The one factor that adjustments is the face of the scammer… and the sufferer, who’s grasping sufficient to YOLO their life financial savings.”

Over $2.17 billion in crypto has already been stolen this 12 months, surpassing all of 2024, based on blockchain evaluation agency Chainalysis’ 2025 Mid-12 months Crypto Crime Report.

Moore’s sentencing comes amid a broader crackdown on crypto funding fraud. 

Simply final month, two executives behind OmegaPro had been charged with working a $650 million international Ponzi disguised as a forex-crypto platform. 

Like Moore, they flaunted luxurious life and promised large returns earlier than blocking withdrawals and vanishing in 2023.

The rugby participant will serve his 30-month sentence in federal jail. He was additionally ordered to pay restitution, although authorities didn’t specify the total compensation plan.