MrBeast has pledged a $100,000 reward to anyone who can provide credible leads that result in the arrest of fraudsters who stole $1.25 million from Erik Bergman, co-founder of Malta-based Catena Media.
The YouTube creator shared the bounty on his X account, bringing global attention to a scam that has rattled Malta’s iGaming and crypto circles.
The fraud began soon after Bergman donated $1 million to Team Water, a legitimate clean water project run by MrBeast and Mark Rober.
Scammers quickly exploited the goodwill surrounding that campaign, drawing Bergman into a fake WhatsApp group that appeared to be an exclusive investment community.
Within the chat, impostors posing as MrBeast, Rober, Shopify billionaire Tobi Lütke, streaming figure Adin Ross and others promised “early access” to a new cryptocurrency token allegedly tied to Coinbase.
Convinced by the high-profile names and the sense of urgency, Bergman transferred two payments—$750,000 and $500,000—to what he later learned were fraudulent wallets.
According to sources, Bergman said the fake group went so far as to turn away an investor in order to coerce a second transfer.
“They rejected him. Then after they had rejected them, they said, ‘Okay, the price is up now, but you can invest again if you want’. And then he invested on that price, after being rejected and still going in. After that everyone else followed him.”
Initially paralysed by embarrassment, Bergman decided to make his experience public.
He said in a YouTube video,
“I feel so stupid, and so ashamed. At the same time, it feels important to share my story.”
He has since posted full chat logs, screenshots, six phone numbers, and blockchain transaction hashes on his charity-driven site Great.com to warn others.
The response has been overwhelming.
Bergman’s X posts have drawn more than five million views, and one message he received highlighted the human cost of such scams.
Bergman shared,
“There was one guy who wrote to me and said that he had attempted suicide two times after being scammed, and that he felt so supported reading my message, which helped him in so many ways.”
Coinbase’s security team is assisting after its name was used to lend credibility to the scheme, though Bergman expressed frustration with Swedish authorities for showing little interest despite the seven-figure loss.
MrBeast’s team continues to work alongside Bergman, and anyone with credible leads can submit information through Great.com to claim the $100,000 bounty.
Source: Great.com
Coinlive observes that this case exposes a weakness that regulations and technology alone cannot fix: human psychology.
The scammers succeeded not with advanced code, but with trust and social manipulation.
For a market striving for mainstream acceptance, every high-profile fraud chips away at public confidence.
Projects promising innovation must pair transparency with relentless education, because even experienced entrepreneurs can be deceived when greed and urgency collide.
Until the industry confronts these human factors head-on, crypto’s reputation will remain fragile, no matter how strong the technology behind it.
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