Jay Mazini, NYC Instagram celeb, pleads guilty in $8M Bitcoin fraud scheme

NEW YORK - Jebara Igbara, also known as Jay Mazini, has pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn federal courtroom to a three-count information charging him with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering.

The Edgewater, New Jersey man had a popular Instagram account under the name "Jay Mazini," where he would post videos depicting, among other things, occasions during which he would hand out large amounts of cash to various individuals as gifts.

In reality, Igbara was perpetrating overlapping fraud schemes, scamming investors out of at least $8 million.

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"All the victims in this case were promised something that was too good to be true.  Those in the Ponzi scheme were all assured a high rate of return in a short amount of time, while the victims of the Bitcoin advance fee scheme were guaranteed above current market value for their Bitcoin," stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso.

Igbara was also charged with a scheme to defraud members of the Muslim-American community in New York by soliciting their money for purported investments in stock, electronics resale, and purchases of COVID-19 related personal protective equipment (PPE).

Igbara faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced.