Sioux Falls crypto investor indicted in $20M fraud

Benjamin Paul Wiener, a Sioux Falls investor who solicited funds for digital and other investments, was indicted on 29 federal counts that allege he concealed, moved and spent roughly $20 million in investor money.

The Justice Department announced on July 16 that a federal grand jury returned the indictment the previous month. Charges include wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to the indictment, Wiener raised money and digital currency by making materially false statements and other fraudulent representations to induce people to invest with companies he controlled. Prosecutors allege he routed investor funds through banks and cryptocurrency exchanges to hide their location, source, ownership and control, and that he spent significant portions on personal expenses.

The filing names eight business entities prosecutors tie to the scheme: Benaiah Capital LLC, Benaiah Holdings, Inc., Benaiah Digital Fixed Income LP, Benaiah Digital LP, Benaiah Management Company, Inc., Benaiah Enterprises, LLC, Aslan Management, LLC and Runway Four10. The indictment lists the companies without detailing the role each played in specific transactions.

Prosecutors say when investor funds ran low or investors requested returns, Wiener sought fresh capital from new investors and used those proceeds to cover earlier obligations. The charging documents describe that pattern as part of the overall alleged scheme.

Separately, the indictment alleges Wiener obtained a $1 million line of credit from a Sioux Falls financial institution in April 2025 by falsifying documents and correspondence and by using another person’s identifying information without authorization. The Justice Department did not identify the bank or the individual whose information was allegedly used, and it did not connect the credit-line proceeds directly to the estimated $20 million in investor losses; those bank-fraud and identity-theft allegations are treated as distinct counts.

Prosecutors estimate the alleged losses at about $20 million affecting dozens of victims across the region, including investors in South Dakota and Minnesota.

Wiener pleaded not guilty on July 10 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy and was released on bond. His trial is scheduled to begin on September 15. He remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.