ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Christopher Delgado, once the public face of Goliath Ventures — an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme federal investigators say took in more than $300 million from investors — is speaking publicly for the first time as he faces federal charges.
In an exclusive interview with WFTV Channel 9 Anchor and Investigative Reporter Daralene Jones, Delgado said he returned to the United States from Dubai after learning federal authorities were preparing a criminal complaint against him. He was there, he says, working to salvage Goliath, and self-surrendered when he learned the federal criminal complaint was filed.
“I had a responsibility to come back,” Delgado said. “Not only [to] face the charges, but also give a full picture of what happened,” Delgado told Daralene Jones.
Federal investigators accuse Delgado and co-conspirators of soliciting investors with false promises tied to cryptocurrency investments, including claims of monthly returns between 3% and 8% that were described as guaranteed or low risk.
The criminal complaint alleges the operation grew out of a company called Gen Z Ventures in 2019, after Delgado moved from Miami to Orlando. Investigators say investors were required to contribute at least $100,000 to participate.
Channel 9 is not naming the alleged co-conspirators because they are not identified in the federal complaint.
Hundreds of investors, including retirees, teachers, nurses and firefighters, and some investors who were already rich or wealthy, are believed to have lost money through the venture. “They put their trust in me. And I failed them,” Delgado said. “At the end of the day, I failed them.”
Delgado is currently under home confinement and wears an ankle monitor while awaiting the outcome of the federal case. He is confined to an 11,000-square-foot estate that he says was purchased with investor funds shortly before his attorneys confirmed he was under federal investigation.
According to Delgado, little money remained by the time federal authorities intervened. “By the time the DOJ stepped in, there was only like $160,000 left in the bank account,” he said. Jones asked how tens of millions of dollars disappeared. “We were paying people,” he said. “Our people were making an astronomical amount of money, ” Delgado stated.
During hours of interviews conducted over several weeks, Delgado described his upbringing in Victorville, California, saying he grew up poor and worked low-paying jobs as a teenager before later becoming a business consultant. “I grew up poor. My first job, I was making $8 an hour,” Delgado said.
He said he eventually earned significant money consulting businesses and entrepreneurs on branding and marketing. “You had no college education, no formal president role in any sort of corporate company, and people were paying you to tell them how to run their business,” Jones questioned.
“Yeah, I had that allure to me, you know, and again, you’re the first person ever that would be like, ‘why are these people paying you’ - it’s a very valid question. And no one has ever asked me that,” Delgado said.
Delgado said Goliath Ventures initially began as a small group of friends investing together before expanding rapidly.
“They came to me, and they said we want to make this bigger than it is,” Delgado said. “And that was how Goliath started.”
Jones asked if he is ready to accept responsibility. Delgado apologized directly to investors.
“The whole point of this was not only to show people and tell people from beginning to end what happened, but to allow me to tell them directly how sorry I am,” Delgado said.
Since Channel 9 began promoting the interview, dozens of alleged victims have contacted the station, though none agreed to appear on camera. Many questioned whether Delgado should have been given a platform to respond publicly. Channel 9 did so because we believed allowing Delgado to answer questions was an important part of holding him accountable.
Anchor and Investigative Reporter Daralene Jones spent hours a day with Delgado over several weeks. WFTV Channel 9 will continue airing additional reports this week examining where investor money went, why Delgado continued spending funds and the roles of others connected to the investigation.
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