In a Brooklyn federal court, crypto personality TJ Stone, whose real name is Thomas John Sfraga, pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges for scamming over a dozen victims out of more than $1.3 million. Sfraga pretended to be a successful entrepreneur and presented fake businesses, including Vandelay Contracting Corp. and Build Strong Homes LLC, to convince victims to invest in fraudulent schemes or loan him money.

Between 2019 and 2022, Sfraga promised victims high returns on investments in a fake cryptocurrency "virtual wallet" and even convinced one victim to lend him $100,000 in cash for a non-existent construction project. Instead, he used the funds to pay off earlier victims and business associates.

US Attorney Breon Peace stated that Sfraga's actions were a brazen lie that swindled people out of their hard-earned savings. Sfraga faces up to 20 years in prison and must pay over $1.33 million in restitution to his victims.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market has seen a significant uptick, with prices surging across major digital assets. Bitcoin has regained the $67,000 mark, and Ethereum has risen 5.5% to $3,111. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has also increased by 3% in the past 24 hours, reaching $2.37 trillion, indicating a renewed sense of optimism in the digital asset ecosystem.