A California investor has filed a class-action lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank, accusing the nation’s largest bank of facilitating a massive crypto Ponzi scheme run by Goliath Ventures.
The complaint, filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges the scheme collected about $328 million from more than 2,000 investors, including plaintiff Robbie Steele, who says he invested about $650,000, much of it from his retirement savings.
According to the lawsuit, Goliath CEO Christopher Delgado used Chase accounts to collect investor deposits and redistribute funds to previous investors, a classic Ponzi scheme.
Most of the investor money flowed through Chase’s key account, where about $253 million was deposited between 2023 and 2025. The complaint alleges that only minimal funds were used for crypto investments, while approximately $50 million was paid to previous investors as potential returns, and millions were directed to Delgado or related individuals.
The lawsuit alleges that Chase had access to transaction monitoring systems and followed anti-money laundering regulations that should have detected the activity. Instead, the bank allegedly continued to service the accounts despite the red flags, allowing the scheme to operate for years.
The complaint is filed on behalf of a nationwide class of investors who allegedly lost money in Goliath’s investment program.
Goliath Ventures was founded in January 2023 as a crypto company in Florida, originally a brand of Gen-Z Venture Firm, which promotes investment opportunities related to liquidity pools and Bitcoin mining.
The company advertised a 4% guaranteed monthly return and earned it through early investor payouts and promotional activity.
However, concerns arose in September 2025 after investigative journalist Danny de Heck exposed dubious claims and payment structures that resembled a Ponzi scheme.
The scheme came to light in January 2026 during a withdrawal, and Delgado was arrested in February on federal charges related to an alleged $328 million fraud.
