High-profile influencer real-estate scam sentence

An Ohio social media influencer who took in more than $23 million in a real estate Ponzi scheme was sentenced to six years in federal prison on April 10. (justice.gov) Federal prosecutors said Tyler Bossetti, 31, of Columbus used his company, Boss Lifestyle LLC, to pitch short-term real estate investments from 2019 through 2023. He pleaded guilty in June 2025 to wire fraud and aiding in a false tax filing. (justice.gov, justice.gov) The Justice Department said Bossetti promised returns of 30 percent or more and promoted the deals heavily on Facebook and YouTube. Prosecutors said he collected money from victims across the United States and abroad, and that dozens of investors lost more than $11 million. (justice.gov, irs.gov) The criminal case turned on a basic feature of Ponzi schemes: newer investor money is used to keep earlier investors believing the returns are real. Prosecutors said Bossetti also filed about 14 false Internal Revenue Service Form 1099-INT statements that reported interest income investors had not actually earned. (justice.gov, justice.gov) Court documents described the money flow as part investment pitch, part lifestyle branding. Bossetti admitted using investor money for a downtown Columbus condo, frequent travel, a $150,000 Mercedes sport utility vehicle, and cryptocurrency purchases. (justice.gov, justice.gov) The sentence landed nearly 10 months after his guilty plea and about a year after the federal case was filed in April 2025. United States District Judge Algenon L. Marbley imposed a 72-month term in Columbus federal court. (justice.gov, justice.gov, courtlistener.com) The case drew broader attention because Bossetti was not accused of running a private, word-of-mouth fraud alone; prosecutors said he built the sales machine through public social media promotion. NBC News reported when he was charged in May 2025 that the case centered on an Ohio “finance influencer” selling followers on high-return property deals. (nbcnews.com, justice.gov) At sentencing, United States Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II tied Bossetti’s case to tax enforcement as well as investor fraud. Gerace said the office would pursue people who “cheat the tax system” and people who steal from private citizens. (justice.gov) The six-year sentence closes the criminal case’s central chapter, but the facts prosecutors laid out were straightforward: social media promotion, promised 30 percent returns, more than $23 million raised, and more than $11 million lost. (justice.gov, justice.gov)