Connecticut: Man Pleads Guilty After Gambling Away Investors’ Crypto on Stake.com
- A Connecticut man who told investors he was making them money in cryptocurrency has pleaded guilty in a scheme in which, federal prosecutors say, he never invested their funds and instead moved them…
- Elmin Redzepagic, 25, of Wolcott, pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct.
- From about May 2021 to March 2025, Redzepagic presented himself to investors as a cryptocurrency investor who earned high rates of return, prosecutors said.
A Connecticut man who told investors he was making them money in cryptocurrency has pleaded guilty in a scheme in which, federal prosecutors say, he never invested their funds and instead moved them to Stake.com, an offshore gambling site, where he lost the money. The victims’ net losses came to $1,159,945.34, prosecutors said.
Elmin Redzepagic, 25, of Wolcott, pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut said. More than 10 victims lost money, according to the office.
“Gas fees” and a man called “The Chef”
From about May 2021 to March 2025, Redzepagic presented himself to investors as a cryptocurrency investor who earned high rates of return, prosecutors said. After a victim made a first investment, he would tell them they had earned a large profit but had to pay extra “gas fees” before they could withdraw it.
He also claimed to be part of a team led by someone known as “The Chef,” who supposedly decided who would be paid, how and when, according to court documents described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Where the money went
None of the money was invested in cryptocurrency, prosecutors said. Redzepagic used Stake.com to receive and hold the proceeds, to create cryptocurrency addresses that victims used to send him Bitcoin, and to make large “lulling” payments to victims during the scheme. Lulling payments are payments made to victims to keep them from suspecting a fraud.
He then lost the victims’ money gambling on Stake.com, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. When IRS Criminal Investigation agents interviewed him in September 2023, he made several false statements, prosecutors said.
From 21 counts to four
The case started bigger. A federal grand jury in New Haven indicted Redzepagic on Jan. 20, 2026, on 21 counts: seven of wire fraud, 11 of international money laundering and three of making false statements to IRS agents, prosecutors announced on Feb. 12, 2026. At that time, they put the net loss at about $950,000. The October release gives the higher figure of $1,159,945.34 and does not explain the difference.
He pleaded guilty to four charges:
- Two counts of wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years in prison.
- One count of international money laundering, up to 20 years.
- One count of making a false statement to IRS Criminal Investigation agents, up to five years.
What the court docket shows
The case is United States v. Redzepagic, No. 3:26-cr-00011, in federal court in Connecticut. Its docket shows the court appointed a lawyer for him on Feb. 11, 2026, and that he was arrested and arraigned on Feb. 12, 2026. When the indictment was announced, prosecutors said he had recently lived in Florida and had pleaded not guilty.
On Oct. 19, 2026, the docket lists a plea agreement and an order for a presentence investigation report, the background report a judge uses before sentencing. It also shows that his release on bond was continued.
What happens next
Judge Dooley scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11, 2027. Redzepagic, who was arrested on Feb. 12, 2026, remains free on a $500,000 bond until then. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Wines is prosecuting it.
Related: West Virginia: Animal Clinic Manager Admits Stealing $624,600, Says He Lost It All to Gambling.
Featured image: Downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Redzepagic entered his guilty plea in federal court, in 2021. Photo: MrFib / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
