BALTIMORE, MD — Self-described blockchain evangelist Rodney Burton, better known as Bitcoin Rodney, insisted in US District Court this week that he is entirely innocent of promoting the $1.89 billion HyperVerse Ponzi scheme, alleging that he himself was ensnared by a Ponzi scheme hidden inside the original Ponzi scheme.

According to court filings, Burton explained that Australian entrepreneur Sam Lee, the scheme’s alleged mastermind, constructed an ‘elaborate deception’ so advanced that ‘even seasoned promoters of improbable get-rich-quick opportunities could not detect the scam, much less profit from it.’

‘Frankly, I thought HyperVerse was just your run-of-the-mill, garden-variety next-gen decentralized metaverse multi-level reward ecosystem,’ Burton told reporters via Zoom from a nondescript hotel room with suspiciously fast Wi-Fi. ‘At no point did I suspect that hyping an anonymous virtual galaxy with a 3000% yield was anything but “good faith.”’

Legal expert Dr. Vanessa Tulliver offered context: ‘Traditionally, when Ponzi schemes collapse, everyone blames everyone else. But rarely do you see a promoter argue he was tricked by an even more advanced tier of pyramid. In this case, we may need a new shape.’

HyperVerse member Daniel “CryptoDan” Fields expressed his support: ‘If you can’t trust a man named Bitcoin Rodney selling you HyperCosmic Mining Packages in a universe that doesn’t exist, who can you trust?’ he asked, clutching a commemorative HyperVerse plush asteroid.

Meanwhile, Sam Lee dismissed the lawsuit in a press release written entirely using crypto-themed emojis, calling the claims ‘🚫🤡🌌.’