Convicted Ponzi schemer arrested in Florida after failing to show up for sentencing

Seattle – A federally convicted Ponzi schemer was arrested today in South Florida following an hours-long stand-off with FBI Miami, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. In December 2022, Volodimyr Pigida, a Miami area resident who previously resided in Bellevue, Washington, was found guilty by a jury in the Western District of Washington of 26 felony counts, including conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, and bankruptcy fraud, among other crimes.

In his $11 million Ponzi scheme Pigida defrauded thousands of victims. Pigida and his wife operated a ‘work-at-home’ email scheme named Trend Sound Promoter that ultimately crashed – but not before the two raided the company’s accounts to purchase homes, expensive cars, and a yacht.

On August 4, 2023, Pigida failed to appear at his sentencing hearing before the district court in Seattle. A warrant was issued for his arrest. Pigida is a naturalized U.S. Citizen who was born in Ukraine.

Pigida will appear in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. Prosecutors will ask that he be detained and transferred to the Western District of Washington by the U.S. Marshals Service.

The FBI wanted poster is here: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wcc/volodimyr-pigida

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Kopczynski.