According to TechFlow, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) successfully recovered $18 million worth of digital assets related to an alleged commodity pool Ponzi scheme.
Oregon man Sam Ikkurty is accused of defrauding investors through a so-called "cryptocurrency hedge fund," promising to return "net profits" but failing to do so, and even concealing the fact that the fund's performance fell 98.99% in a few months.
The CFTC alleges that Ikkurty broke his promises to invest in volatile digital assets and that his so-called expertise in cryptocurrencies was false.
Judge Mary Rowland of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered Ikkurty and related entities to pay a total of $209 million, including customer restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties.