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Westporter Pleads Guilty to Stealing $4.4 Million from Cryptocurrency-Handling Employer
HARTFORD — A Westport man pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing nearly $4.5 million from a cryptocurrency company he ran.
Dylan Meissner, 31, vice president of finance for a cryptocurrency company, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court, according to a statement from Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.
Meissner, whose job gave him access to the company’s wallets and bank accounts, took out a loan of “50 Ethereum,” worth about $170,000, from his employer in January 2022 to cover “a substantial loss in certain cryptocurrency investments he had made using his personal funds,” according to Roberts Avery.
The cryptocurrency company has not been identified.
Roberts Avery said an FBI investigation revealed that from February 2022 until his firing the following November, Meissner diverted $4,461,828 of the company’s money to cover “significant personal business losses.” He was able to carry out the scheme by falsifying the company’s financial records, according to the prosecutor.
During court proceedings Thursday, Meissner pleaded guilty to wire fraud, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 11 by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea.
Meissner was released on $100,000 bail, pending sentencing.
Additionally, according to Roberts Avery, Meissner was ordered to repay $4,633,424.99, which includes the stolen money and the loan he failed to repay.