James Niu Wolfgramm
James Niu Wolfgramm (Knee-u, born 9/24/1978) aka Semisi Niu, aka James Vaka Niu, from Utah is a self proclaimed cryptocurrency millionaire who is currently facing federal indictment. He is most well-known for allegedly swindling $1 million from far-right blogger Theodore Beale (aka Vox Day), money that was intended to make a movie (Rebel's Run) about a right-wing superhero. News articles also claim that Wolfgramm's alleged wealth is fake and the expensive cars and crypto wallets containing large amount of money were pictures he found on the Internet and posted on his social media account. A federal grand jury in 2022 charged Wolfgramm with five counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering; and two of his businesses (Bitex LLC (Bitex), and Ohana Capital Financial, Inc. (OCF)) with seven felony counts for financial fraud schemes.
In addition to claiming to be a crypto millionaire, Wolfgramm also made claims to be an inventor, entrepreneur, real estate investor, and human rights activist. He was born in Inglewood, CA and now resides in Orem, Utah.
Wolfgramm claims his life calling is to help find a cure for cancer. There is no evidence he made contribution to said life-calling.
Federal Indictment
On September 22, 2022; the US Dept. of Justice released a federal indictment detailing the charges of James Wolfgramm with five counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering; and two of his businesses (Bitex LLC (Bitex), and Ohana Capital Financial, Inc. (OCF)) with seven felony counts for financial fraud schemes.
The DOJ accuses Wolfgramm of luring his victims to his fraudulent investment schemes by pretending to be a crypto millionaire on social media. The prosecutor said Wolfgramm downloaded images of luxury items, such as expensive cars and crypto wallets containing lots of money, from the Internet and posted them on his social media profiles; and making wildly exaggerated claims such as a “financial advisor that helps more than 10,000 clients each year.” (Source: Yahoo News).
Wolfgramm's company, Bitex, allegedly sold a cryptocurrency mining machine (Bitex Blockbuster) to two investors for $1.7 million that does not exist, according to the DOJ. Wolfgramm concocted a scheme to make his fake machine appeared to work by hooking it up to the computer with pre-recorded loop of mining images.
Ohana Capital Financial (OCF), marketed as a bank that helps clients rejected by traditional banks, allegedly accepted millions of dollars from clients that supposedly were to put on hold at escrow accounts but in reality were illegally spend by Wolfgramm.
Wolfgramm allegedly faked interest in purchasing an indoor soccer complex to obtain information that would help him carry out his fraudulent scheme. He pretended to be the owner of the complex and collected money from customers.
Anti-Woke Superhero Movie Scandal
The news of Wolfgramm's indictment went viral in October, 2022 when journalists connected Ohana Capital Financial with the $1 million fundraising campaign from right-wing blogger Theodore Beale (aka Vox Day), who was trying to fund his right-wing themed superhero movie about Anti-Wokism. According to Yahoo Finance News, Beale had raised $1 million from supporters in 2019 to fund his movie. His well-known racists and misogynistic views discouraged traditional banks from working with him so he turned to Ohana Capital Financial, run by Wolfgramm, to help with the banking side of his project. On Nov. 5, 2020, Beale transferred $1M to Ohana Capital Financial thinking it would be put in escrow. Unbeknown to Beale at the time, Wolfgramm was heavily in debt and used the $1M to cover part of his debt.
Prosecutors said Wolfgramm had earlier defrauded $4 million from another client by accepting the client's money and promising to delivery the money, on the client's behalf, to a Chinese protective equipment company for the purchase of PPE. Wolfgramm did not pay the Chinese company as promised and spend the money on his personal and business use. After Beale send $1M to Ohana Capital Financial to be put in escrow, Wolfgramm instead used the $1M to belatedly purchased the PPE.
Beale released a video to his supporters on October 14, 2022 where he said he grew suspicious of Ohana Capital Financial's handling of his money and contacted the FBI. He also said, “I wouldn’t count on us getting the money back.”
Early life
Childhood and family
James Niu Wolfgramm was born on September 24th, 1978 in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. His parents, Semisi and Paea, emigrated from the Polynesian country of Tonga to the United States in 1974. His mother, Paea Finau Niu, was a stay-at-home mom who was active with her four sons and daughter. James is the firstborn and his younger siblings include Grace, Howard, Enoch, and John.
Wolfgramm's claim that his father was a successful oilman who later became more successful by starting an import/export business cannot be verified. Neither are his numerous other claims that purported him to be a child prodigy and a star athlete. He also claims his family lived in a poor, rough, and violent neighborhood despite his family's wealth supposedly reaching into the multi-millions.
Education
Wolfgramm claims to be a graduate of University of Southern California, but on his LinkedIn page, he put University of California at Los Angeles as his alma mater. At other times, he claimed Southern California University (no such school exists) as his alma mater. It is unknown what school, if any, he attended.
Personal Life
Marriage and children
He and his wife, Lupe Niu Wolfgramm, have been married for 12 years and have six children; three daughters Rachel, Paea, and Lena and three sons Eli, Titan, and King James. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
His maternal great-grandfather Wolfgramm along with his four brothers emigrated to Tonga from Germany. His grandfather was a very successful businessman in Tonga and had 31 children.
The culture of Polynesian families is very family-oriented, stressing respect for one’s elders and women. James chose to honor his maternal grandfather by adding his name as a sign of respect.
