CFTC Charges 2 Men With Running a $44M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

3 years ago

CoinDesk - Unknown

Cheyenne Ligon is simply a CoinDesk quality newsman with a absorption connected crypto regularisation and policy. She has nary important crypto holdings.

Two U.S. residents person been charged with moving a crypto ponzi strategy that allegedly defrauded hundreds of investors retired of a corporate $44 million.

Officials with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) allege Sam Ikkurty (also known arsenic Sreenivas I Rao), of Portland, Oregon, and Ravishankar Avadhanam of Aurora, Illinois, arsenic good arsenic respective firm entities controlled by the defendants, worked unneurotic to person their victims to put successful a “so-called income money invested successful integer assets.”

The defendants person besides been charged with operating an amerciable commodity excavation and failing to registry arsenic a Commodity Pool Operator with the CFTC.

Beginning successful 2017, Ikkurty and Avadhanam allegedly told would-be investors successful Ikkurty Capital, Rose City Income Fund and Seneca Ventures that the brace would usage their funds to put successful assorted cryptocurrencies, promising precise precocious returns – immoderate arsenic precocious arsenic 62% annually. According to the complaint, the brace advertised via a website arsenic good arsenic videos posted connected YouTube.

Instead, the CFTC said, Ikkurty and Avadhanam pooled the capitalist funds and “distributed the bulk of those funds arsenic profits to different participants successful a mode akin to a Ponzi scheme.”

Additionally, the CFTC said Ikkurty and Avadhanam kept $18 cardinal for themselves, transferring the funds to “other participants” and off-shore entities nether their control.

A national tribunal has issued a restraining bid that freezes the assets successful question, preserves documents relating to the alleged scheme, and appoints a receiver for capitalist funds.

The CFTC is seeking restitution, disgorgement, civilian monetary penalties, and imperishable trading bans and injunctions against aboriginal violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

The Festival for the Decentralized World

Thursday - Sunday, June 9-12, 2022

Austin, Texas

Save a Seat Now

DISCLOSURE

Please enactment that our

privacy policy,

terms of use,

cookies, and

do not merchantability my idiosyncratic information

has been updated.

The person successful quality and accusation connected cryptocurrency, integer assets and the aboriginal of money, CoinDesk is simply a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a

strict acceptable of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an autarkic operating subsidiary of

Digital Currency Group, which invests in

cryptocurrencies

and blockchain

startups. As portion of their compensation, definite CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, whitethorn person vulnerability to DCG equity successful the signifier of

stock appreciation rights, which vest implicit a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to acquisition banal outright successful DCG.

CoinDesk - Unknown

Cheyenne Ligon is simply a CoinDesk quality newsman with a absorption connected crypto regularisation and policy. She has nary important crypto holdings.

CoinDesk - Unknown

Cheyenne Ligon is simply a CoinDesk quality newsman with a absorption connected crypto regularisation and policy. She has nary important crypto holdings.


Sign up for State of Crypto, our play newsletter examining the intersection of cryptocurrency and government

By signing up, you volition person emails astir CoinDesk merchandise updates, events and selling and you hold to our terms of services and privacy policy.

View source