Minocqua man sentenced to over six years for wire fraud and money laundering

Date: Feb. 6, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Madison, WI – Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Cory Kromray, Minocqua, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 6 years and 8 months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an investment fraud scheme. Kromray pleaded guilty to these charges on November 7, 2025. As part of his sentence, Kromray was ordered to pay $828,266.71 in restitution to the victims of the fraud scheme.

I applaud the investigative work of the agents in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Elgersma. “Fraud schemes like this one are devastating to victims. The sentence sends a strong message that this office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who defraud others.”

The government’s investigation revealed that Kromray used social media and other online communications to falsely portray himself as a successful trader in stocks, mutual funds, cryptocurrency, and the foreign currency exchange market (forex). Kromray also used social media to display his wealth allegedly acquired from trading, including images or references to expensive watches, a large home, tropical vacations, and exotic sports cars.

During meetings with investors or potential investors, Kromray often bragged about his success as a trader and would often drive expensive vehicles to the meetings, including a 2022 Lamborghini Urus and a 2022 McLaren 720S. Kromray would falsely claim that investors could expect a monthly rate of return of approximately 4% to 8%, with the potential of earning up to 30% a month. Kromray falsely told at least one investor that he was a top 1% trader in the Midwest. Kromray falsely told another investor that he could guarantee a 100% return on their investment.

Despite his promises to investors to use their money for legitimate investments and provide them returns, Kromray often used investor money to pay his personal expenses. Kromray also provided some investors with false information about the success of their investments, including providing fictitious account statements that showed the investors’ supposed current portfolio balance. By providing fictitious account statements, Kromray intended to lull investors into believing that he was actively trading their funds.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley stated that Kromray’s investment fraud scheme was “the worst kind of fraud that can be committed,” because he took money from his close friends and lied to them about investing it. Judge Conley noted that Kromray worked hard to dupe investors by portraying a “fantasy luxury life,” including buying high-end cars like Lamborghinis and McLarens. Judge Conley noted that Kromray would often meet face-to-face with his investors and “flat out lie” to them about “things that were demonstrably false” and provide them with “pie in the sky promises.” Judge Conley also noted that Kromray poses a substantial risk of reoffending when he is released from prison because his statements at sentencing sounded like he was still in denial about his crimes. Judge Conley concluded that “if there is a more heinous white-collar crime, I don’t know what it is.”

The charges against Kromray were a result of an investigation conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.