HARTFORD, Conn. — Earlier this week, a former cryptocurrency executive from Westport pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to a fraud offense after stealing millions of dollars from his former employer, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Dylan Meissner, 31, pleaded guilty on Thursday to the wire fraud offense after stealing approximately $4.46 million, prosecutors said.
Court documents and statements note that Meissner was employed at a cryptocurrency research firm as vice president of Finance with access to the firm’s cryptocurrency wallets and bank accounts.
Around January 2022, Meissner acquired a 50 Ethereum loan amounting to approximately $170,000 from his employer, the release said. Meissner said he would use the funds to avoid a substantial loss in specific cryptocurrency investments he made using his personal funds, according to prosecutors.
From February 2022 until his termination in November of that year, Meissner fraudulently diverted his employer’s funds to his own use and covered up his conduct through false entries in the firm’s books and records in continued attempts to counteract significant personal losses, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Meissner stole around $4,461,828 from his employer.
On Thursday, Meissner pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. He will be sentenced on Oct. 11 and faces a restitution order of $4,633,424, which includes the money he stole from his employer and the loan he failed to repay, prosecutors said.
The release noted that Meissner is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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