A Houston man has been sentenced to a lengthy prison stay after robbing investors of millions in savings through a bogus cryptocurrency that was supposedly backed by a collection of works by Salvador Dalí, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and other famed artists. Nearly 1,000 victims were cheated out of more than $20 million, with many losing their entire savings.
A federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois convicted Robert Dunlap, 55, on mail fraud charges in 2025. Earlier this month, US District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt sentenced him to 23 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay restitution.
For five years, between 2018 and 2023, Dunlap claimed to be running a cryptocurrency business that peddled a digital asset, “Meta-1 Coin.” He told potential investors that the asset was backed by up to $1 billion in art and $44 billion in gold, telling his victims that an accounting firm had audited the gold and confirmed its value. Faked legal documents, insurance documents, and other bogus paperwork concealed the fact that he owned neither the art nor the gold.
“Defendant lied to investors for years telling them that he had created a safe investment for them,” Assistant US Attorneys Jared Hasten and Paige Nutini argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Over the years, defendant was unrepentant and his lies became bigger. Would-be criminals planning to engage in similar conduct need to know that such actions will be met with a serious repercussion that includes loss of one’s liberty for an extended period of time.”
According to the 2024 indictment, Dunlap falsely told his victims that they could withdraw their investments at any time by exchanging Meta-1 Coin for other cryptocurrencies or conventional currencies, including US dollars.
“Robert Dunlap didn’t just take money—he took years of hard work, trust, and financial security from his victims,” said Adam Jobes, special agent-in-charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago, an a joint announcement with Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, special agent-in-charge of the Chicago field office of the FBI.
“He used lies and deception to pull in millions, leaving some investors with nothing,” said Jobes. “Crimes like this don’t just hit bank accounts—they upend lives. This 23-year sentence reflects the depth of that harm and sends a clear warning: Those who exploit others for personal gain will be found, and they will face serious consequences.”
