A US judge this week ordered a convicted fraudster to pay a $5 million civil fine and $31 million in restitution in connection with a massive crypto and forex scheme he orchestrated.
William Koo Ichioka, a New York resident, started his scheme in 2018 and defrauded tens of millions of dollars in mutual funds from more than 100 victims by making false claims that he could earn a 10% return every 30 business days, according to US Commodity Futures. Trade Commission (CFTC).
Ichioka put money into real digital assets and forex investments, but he also used investors’ cash to pay his rent and buy jewelry, watches and luxury vehicles, and he continued the fraud by manufacturing fake financial documents.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) also notes that the convicted fraudster kept the scam going by paying back existing investors with new investor funds, the hallmark of a classic Ponzi scheme.
Ichioka pleaded guilty to fraud in 2023 and was sentenced to 48 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
The CFTC pursued an enforcement action that ran parallel to Ichioka’s criminal conviction, convincing the court to ban him from trading in markets supervised by the commodities regulator. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also investigated Ichioka.
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