Daniel Ianello, accused of orchestrating an exit scam tied to the crypto project The Phoenix, has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against him in federal court in Tennessee.
According to the lawsuit, Ianello assumed control of Phoenix Community Capital in October 2022 and allegedly carried out an exit scam shortly thereafter. Plaintiffs allege that once Ianello gained access to The Phoenix’s FIRE token assets, he shut down its smart contracts, moved hundreds of thousands of dollars in investor funds, deleted posts on Discord, removed previous versions of the project’s website, and announced that the smart contracts would not be reinstated.
In his motion to dismiss, Ianello argued that the court lacks personal jurisdiction over him, stating that he resides in Michigan and has no meaningful ties to Tennessee. “This court does not have personal jurisdiction over Mr. Ianello. Mr. Ianello is domiciled in the state of Michigan,” the filing states.
He also denied involvement in any securities transactions, claiming he acquired the company’s assets only after any alleged sales had taken place. Ianello maintains that he made no promotional statements regarding investments and accuses the plaintiffs of improperly conflating him with the original founders of The Phoenix.
Project made bold promises
According to its CoinMarketCap listing, The Phoenix claimed to use a “large capital pool of community assets” to tap into exclusive investment opportunities typically out of reach for retail investors. Profits from those investments were to be distributed to tokenholders through periodic profit releases.
The project also promoted an in-house incubation program, which allowed its management team to develop, fund, and oversee new ventures. This initiative was marketed as a way to generate “high percentage profit sharing” for the community.
Crypto scams are a hot topic
Scams continue to plague the crypto industry. A report released Tuesday by blockchain security firm CertiK revealed that losses from hacks, exploits, and scams surged to $2.47 billion in the first half of 2025.
As reported by Cointelegraph on Friday, a self-proclaimed victim of a crypto romance scam—who previously sued Citibank for allegedly overlooking warning signs—has now filed a second lawsuit, this time against two additional banks.
Meanwhile, in late June, a man involved in a crypto-based Ponzi scheme was sentenced to 97 months in prison by a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York. He will serve nearly eight years behind bars.
