U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. David Saffron, et al
United States v. David Saffron and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta, Jr.
Court Docket: 2:22-cr-276 (C.D. California)
United States v. David Kagel
Court Docket: 2:24-cr-00024 (D. Nevada)
Assigned Court: The case involving defendants Saffron and Mazzotta is assigned to U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, First Street Courthouse, 350 West 1st Street, Courtroom 7D, Los Angeles, CA 90012-4565.
The case involving defendant Kagel is assigned to U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro, Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89101.
Latest updates:
The change of plea hearing for defendant Kagel previously scheduled for April 29, 2024 has been continued to May 13, 2024 at 9:00 AM before Judge Gloria M. Navarro.
A motion hearing as to defendant Mazzotta is set for May 20, 2024 at 8:30 AM before Judge Dale S. Fischer.
The case involving defendant David Kagel has been transferred from the Central District of California to the District of Nevada, Las Vegas Division.
The trial for defendants Saffron and Mazzotta is set for August 13, 2024 at 8:30 AM before Judge Dale S. Fischer, First Street Courthouse, 350 West 1st Street, Courtroom 7D, Los Angeles, CA 90012-4565. A pretrial conference is set for August 5, 2024 at 8:30 AM.
A superseding indictment was unsealed on December 11, 2023, charging David Gilbert Saffron (a/k/a David Gilbert, Dave Gabe, The Blue Wizard, and Bitcoin Yoda) and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta, Jr. (a/k/a Vincent Midnight, Anthony, Delta Prime, and Director Vinchenzo) with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering for their involvement in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims of more than $25 million.
On August 14, 2023, the Court revoked the order of pretrial release for defendant David Saffron and ordered defendant Saffron detained and committed for confinement in a corrections facility until the conclusion of trial.
On June 28, 2023, David Kagel, was charged by Criminal Information in the Central District of California with one count of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud. The United States charged that defendant Kagel conspired with David Saffron and others to commit commodity fraud.
Superseding Indictment:
According to the superseding indictment, Saffron and Mazzotta, Jr. allegedly conspired to operate a fraudulent scheme to induce victims to invest in various trading programs that falsely promised to employ an artificial intelligence automated trading bot to trade victims’ investments in cryptocurrency markets and earn high-yield profits. Saffron and Mazzotta promoted the investment programs under various names including Circle Society, Bitcoin Wealth Management, Omicron Trust, Mind Capital, and Cloud9Capital. Rather than investing victims’ funds in cryptocurrency, Saffron and Mazzotta allegedly misappropriated victims’ funds to pay for personal expenses including private chartered jet flights, luxury hotel accommodations, private mansion rentals, a personal chef, and private security guards.
To execute the scheme, Saffron and Mazzotta allegedly created a fictious entity called the Federal Crypto Reserve. The indictment alleges that, after inducing victims to invest in one of the cryptocurrency investment programs, Saffron and Mazzotta fraudulently solicited victims to pay the Federal Crypto Reserve to investigate and recover the victims’ losses. To conceal his identity, Saffron often allegedly solicited victims under various aliases, including David Gilbert and Dave Gabe, and under various online personas, including The Blue Wizard and Bitcoin Yoda.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
For more information about United States v. Saffron and Mazzotta, Jr., please see below:
Superseding Indictment
Press Release
Case Overviews:
On June 28, 2022 defendant David Saffron was indicted in the Central District of California with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. The criminal charges against David Gilbert Saffron, the operator of Circle Society Corp., alleged his involvement in a fraudulent cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. As alleged in the initial indictment, Saffron falsely represented to investors that he traded investors’ funds to earn profits using a trading bot that could execute over 17,000 transactions per hour on various cryptocurrency exchanges. Saffron falsely represented that his trading bot would generate high-yield returns on the amount invested. To entice investors, Saffron allegedly led investor meetings at luxury homes in the Hollywood Hills and elsewhere, and traveled with a team of armed security guards in order to create the false appearance of wealth and success.
On June 28, 2023 defendant David Kagel was charged by Criminal Information in the Central District of California with one count of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud. The United States alleged that Kagel conspired with David Saffron and others to carry out a scheme to defraud in connection with the sale of Bitcoin, a commodity in interstate commerce. On the same day, a plea agreement signed by the parties was filed with the Court.
For more information about United States v. Saffron, please see below:
For more information about United States v. Kagel, please see below:
Victim Impact Statement: If you would like to submit a Victim Impact Statement you may do so by mailing the Victim Impact Statement below to: Victim Witness Unit, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 453, Washington, DC 20530-0001. You also may submit the Victim Impact Statement via email at VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov or by fax at: (202) 514-3708.
The information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case. If you have any questions, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.
Presumption of Innocence: It is important to keep in mind that an indictment contains allegations only, and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. That presumption requires both the court and our office to take certain steps to ensure that justice is served.
Crime Victims’ Rights Act and Right to Retain Counsel: The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771) applies only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus individuals may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which the individual is a victim was not charged. Section 3771(c)(2) of this Act requires that we advise you that you have the right to retain counsel. Although the statute specifically sets forth your right to seek advice of an attorney with regard to your rights under the statute, there is no requirement that you retain counsel. The Government may not recommend any specific counsel, nor can the government (or the court) pay for counsel to represent you. Government attorneys represent the United States.
If you elect to obtain counsel to represent your interests, please have your attorney notify this office in writing at: U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20530-0001, Attention: Victim Witness Unit; fax: (202) 514-3708; or email: VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. If you elect not to retain counsel to represent your interests, you do not need to do anything.
Plea Agreements: Please be aware that many criminal cases are resolved by plea agreement between the Department of Justice and the defendant. If you want to inform the prosecutor of your views regarding the plea agreement, or any other aspect of the case, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov, and we will put you in touch with the prosecutor.