A US judge has ordered a guilty fraudster to pay $36,000,000 for fraud related to cryptocurrency and forex schemes

A US judge this week issued an order requiring a convicted fraudster to pay a $5 million civil penalty and $31 million in restitution in connection with a substantial crypto and forex scheme that he spearheaded.

According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), William Koo Ichioka, a resident of New York, initiated his scheme in 2018 and defrauded over 100 victims of tens of millions of dollars in investment funds by making false claims that he could guarantee a 10% return every 30 business days.

Ichioka did invest in some genuine digital assets and forex investments; however, he also utilized investor funds to purchase luxury vehicles, jewelry, watches, and jewelry, as well as to pay his rent. Additionally, he perpetuated the deception by creating fraudulent financial documents.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) also observes that the convicted fraudster maintained the deception by compensating existing investors with new investor funds, which is a characteristic of a traditional Ponzi scheme.

Ichioka was sentenced to 48 months in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to fraud allegations in 2023.

CFTC pursued an additional enforcement action to Ichioka’s criminal conviction and successfully convinced the court to prohibit him from trading in any markets regulated by the commodities regulator. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also conducted an investigation into Ichioka.

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