A federal grand jury has indicted Benjamin Paul Wiener, a 43-year-old investor from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 29 counts related to an alleged $20 million fraudulent scheme. The charges, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, include wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors accuse Wiener of luring dozens of victims primarily from South Dakota, Minnesota, and surrounding areas into investing money and digital assets in companies he controlled — including Benaiah Capital LLC, Benaiah Digital Fixed Income LP, and Runway Four10. He allegedly made false promises of guaranteed or fixed returns while providing little transparency about the investment strategy.
The indictment describes a classic Ponzi-style operation: once funds were received, Wiener moved them through financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to obscure their origin and diverted them for personal expenses. When existing investors demanded returns or redemptions, he used money from new investors to pay earlier ones.
Additionally, in April 2025, Wiener is accused of obtaining a $1,000,000 line of credit from a Sioux Falls bank using falsified documentation and unauthorized personal identification information of a third party.
Wiener appeared before a federal magistrate judge on July 10 and pleaded not guilty. The trial is scheduled for September 15, 2026. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence exceeding 30 years, including up to 30 years for bank fraud, up to 20 years per count for wire fraud and money laundering, plus a mandatory consecutive two-year term for aggravated identity theft, along with fines up to $1,000,000.
The investigation is being conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
