Sioux Falls man indicted on fraud, money laundering, and identity theft charges

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – A Sioux Falls man has been indicted on 29 counts, including charges of Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, Bank Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft.

Benjamin Paul Wiener, 43, was indicted on 29 counts in June and pleaded not guilty to the indictment on July 10.

The maximum penalty upon conviction for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering is up to 20 years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine, with up to 3 years of supervised release and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

The maximum penalty upon conviction for Bank Fraud is up to 30 years in prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine, with up to 5 years of supervised release and a $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

The maximum penalty upon conviction for Aggravated Identity Theft is a mandatory minimum of 2 consecutive years in prison in addition to any term of imprisonment imposed for any other counts of conviction.

The indictment comes from a fraud scheme in which Weiner made false statements and fraudulent representations to get his victims to invest in his companies.

Wiener allegedly took the invested funds from the victims and laundered the money through and into financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal his actions and allow him to use the money for personal expenses.

It is also alleged that Wiener would find new investors and use their money not only on personal expenses, but also to pay back previous investors whose money had run out or who wanted to return their investment.

The scheme affected dozens of victims throughout the region, including in South Dakota and Minnesota, and the government estimates a total loss of $20 million as a result of this scheme.

Wiener allegedly used the following entities for the fraud and money laundering scheme:

• Benaiah Capital LLC
• Benaiah Holdings, Inc.
• Benaiah Digital Fixed Income LP
• Benaiah Digital LP
• Benaiah Management Company, Inc.
• Benaiah Enterprises, LLC
• Aslan Management, LLC
• Runway Four10

The indictment also alleges that Wiener defrauded a financial institution in Sioux Falls.

Wiener allegedly secured a line of credit for $1,000,000 by falsifying various documents, information, and correspondence back in April of 2025 by using another individual’s personal identifying information.

The IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating the case.

Wiener is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court, and his trial is set for September 15, 2026.