Former exec charged with spending $22M in misappropriated funds on crypto and poker

A former executive at StyleHaul, a digital-marketing company, has been charged with embezzling $22 million from his former employer to spend on professional poker tournaments and buying cryptocurrencies.

29-year-old Dennis Blieden was taken into custody in Las Vegas. According to the indictment, he spent $8,473,734 of the company's funds to purchase cryptocurrency. He spent a further $1,204,000 to pay for his poker losses, and a similar sum was used to pay off his credit cards. 

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Blieden, who was previously in charge of StyleHaul's accounts, is said to have transferred funds to his personal bank account. To cover his tracks, he purportedly created a fictitious lease of a condominium in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. He then transferred money to his own account under the guise that he was paying the condo's rent.

He has been charged with “11 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two forfeiture counts.”

About Author

Isabel is The Block's London and European reporter. She previously reported for Reuters in Madrid and London, following on from her time as a freelance journalist for the Guardian and the New York Times. She has a Bachelors in War Studies from King’s College London and a Master of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. Conflict of Interest: Edward Woodford, the CEO of SeedCX, is Isabel's brother. She does not report on any issues related to Seed or advise other authors in any regard.