On Monday, September 22, 2025, Law.com reported that investors have filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court against a New York attorney and two other individuals, alleging their involvement in a cryptocurrency “Ponzi” scheme that purportedly misappropriated over $72 million. The lawsuit claims the defendants utilized concealed code, fabricated trades, and untraceable digital wallets to execute the scheme.
The complaint identifies Peter Hatzipetros, a partner at the Petros Law Group, along with James Tyler Boyd and Mike Boggs, as the defendants. The plaintiffs include Corbin Cowan of Albatross Golf Society, entrepreneur Josh Kirk, and Intellitech Solutions LLC. They are being represented by Kaitlyn M. Coker and Kyle A. Coker, partners at Farmer & Coker, a law firm based in Dallas, Texas.
Kaitlyn Coker stated that this case is not just another pyramid scheme involving a crypto investment algorithm, but rather a clear case of embezzlement. She added that they would pursue all available emergency procedural methods to recover the invested funds.
According to the 33-page complaint, Boyd and Boggs began soliciting investments in mid-2024 for an artificial intelligence trading system named D.A.W.N.N. The defendants allegedly enticed potential investors with chartered Gulfstream flights to Las Vegas and demonstrations showcasing servers, computer nodes, and security devices. These demonstrations were intended to create the impression of a technologically advanced platform capable of exploiting price differences across 50 exchanges simultaneously.
Investors were assured that their funds would be secure within blockchain-based nodes, inaccessible to any single individual, and retrievable only through physical security chips. One investor was reportedly told that a node was mailed to them for safekeeping, without which withdrawals would be impossible.
The defendants allegedly used Eden Alliance LLC as the entity through which they solicited investments, accumulating over $4 million from Cowan and his wife, $7 million from Kirk and one of his businesses in Texas, and $44 million from Intellitech Solutions.
However, the plaintiffs allege that Boyd embedded hidden code that redirected deposits to private wallets under his control. The funds were then broken down into small “dust” transactions, cycled through artificial trades, and laundered through non-custodial exchanges like ChangeNow and StealthEX.
Boyd allegedly informed investors that profits were being converted to USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, to minimize volatility. However, he was allegedly shifting assets into XRP and privacy tokens designed to obscure transaction details.
The complaint also alleges that the defendants created a false trading history using an AI engine to deceive investors into believing that the system was generating legitimate arbitrage profits. Boggs allegedly marketed a separate system to finance the defendants’ personal expenses, gambling habits, and extravagant lifestyles.
Hatzipetros is accused of structuring and registering shell companies, such as Eden Alliance, to create the illusion that investor funds were institutionally housed, when in reality, they remained under the defendants’ control. By mid-2025, investors reportedly experienced withdrawal delays and were given “implausible excuses,” leading Boyd to surrender to federal authorities and confess to operating an “international Ponzi scheme.”
The case is now pending before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The 11-count complaint includes claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Texas Securities Act, and common-law fraud.
At the time of filing, the majority of the $72 million remains unaccounted for. The plaintiffs are seeking measures such as the appointment of a court receiver and the issuance of restraining orders as part of a broader effort to recover the misappropriated assets, dismantle the fraudulent enterprise, and hold those responsible for the deception accountable.
Source: Law.com
