The deputy attorney general's office in Washington recently ordered the New Jersey US attorney's office to dismiss the prosecution with prejudice, although final terms are still being hashed out before the parties inform the court, said two people familiar with the matter. The reprieve for a Colorado man who, according to court filings, once described his model as built "on the backs of idiots," comes during President Donald Trump's retreat on crypto industry enforcement.

Matthew Goettsche created and operated an advanced crypto mining operation, BitClub Network, that rewarded investors for recruiting new members. Prosecutors were scheduled to take him to trial in October, before Goettsche's lawyers informed the judge July 8 that they'd reached an "agreement in principle to resolve the pending charges."

Facing counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to sell unregistered securities, Goettsche assembled a team of lawyers with connections to the Trump administration to lobby DOJ for relief, said the individuals, who spoke anonymously about internal deliberations.

The men urging the department to abandon the case included Bradford Cohen, a Florida lawyer who's supported Trump since appearing as a contestant on his reality show, "The Apprentice," and Brett Tolman, a conservative criminal justice advocate who has helped clients secure Trump pardons, the people said.

"DOJ routinely evaluates cases that have been pending for more than a few years. This particular case had been pending for 7 years now, and the government is recovering a substantial amount owed to investors," said Emily Covington, a department spokesperson, in a statement. "DOJ's decision here had nothing to do with any alleged pressure by Goettsche's attorneys."

Goettsche's lawyers didn't respond to requests for comment.

After the indictment was obtained in the first Trump administration, three co-defendants pleaded guilty. Goettsche's case dragged on for years due to prolonged plea negotiations and discovery review of about 2 million electronic records.

His defense team tried to convince prosecutors to drop the indictment last year when Trump ally Alina Habba was serving as New Jersey US attorney, but Habba supported the case continuing, one of the people said. Settlement discussions, which included efforts to recover as much of victims' money as possible, broke down in December, according to court filings.

Prosecutors submitted a letter to the court in February, signed by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, stating a jury trial was necessary after it became clear that a resolution was no longer possible.

"The Indictment concerns a global fraudulent scheme based on false promises that the victims' hundreds of millions of dollars in investments would be used to generate returns from cryptocurrency mining," Blanche and others wrote.