Imagine a crypto scam named 'Blessings of God Thru Crypto.'
Yes, you heard it right. A couple has been charged by the CFTC for defrauding over 100 people with this oddly named digital assets commodity pool. Here's the scoop:
THREAD 🧵
The couple, Michael and Amanda Griffis, owners of a real estate company, raised over $6 million. They did so by offering colleagues and customers the option to pool funds to trade digital asset commodity futures contracts. Sounds fancy, right? But wait, there’s more.
The Griffis made lofty promises. They said the pool funds would be safe under their control, participants could expect high gains, and they would use the funds to trade 'crypto futures' on the 'Apex Trading Platform.' And they had 'Coach Wendy' advising them.
This 'Blessings Pool' gave investors the chance to bet on future crypto prices. The couple promised exaggerated profits without disclosing the risks. But in reality, the funds were being mixed with their personal money.
A recipe for disaster? You bet.
Here’s how it worked: funds were transferred to Michael Griffis’ account, then moved to his personal Coinbase account. He converted the funds into digital assets like Bitcoin or Tether, and then transferred them to the Apex Trading Platform for trading futures.
The CFTC revealed that about $855K was paid out to some pool participants, linked to Ponzi-style payments. As Ian McGinley, the CFTC’s director of enforcement, said, "The defendants betrayed their pool participants, and they profited from that betrayal."
The Griffis also operate EXIT Realty Screamin’ Eagle.
Their real estate firm hasn't responded to the charges yet.
But one thing is clear: this case underscores the need for caution and due diligence in the wild world of crypto.
👉Beware of 'blessings' that sound too good to be true.
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