Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Charges Four Operators for $44 Million Bitcoin Ponzi and Misappropriation Schemes

The complaint alleges the defendants operated websites through which they fraudulently solicited individuals of more than $44 million of bitcoin. According to the complaint, the websites promised customers that professionals would trade their bitcoin and they guaranteed that the resulting profits would be paid daily. In reality, the complaint states, the customers’ bitcoin were either misappropriated by the defendants and their accomplice or used to make supposed profit payments to other customers that were Ponzi payments.