The operators of an alleged crypto Ponzi scheme have been hit with US$25 million in sanctions by a U.S. district court in Massachusetts.
In 2018, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought civil enforcement action against two related firms — My Big Coin Pay, Inc., and My Big Coin, Inc. — as well as several people behind those companies. The CFTC alleged that between 2014 and 2017, they raised more than US$6 million from investors in a cryptocurrency scheme.
According to regulators, investors were brought into the scheme based on misleading claims about the value, utility and trading status of the crypto token pitched by the companies.
The district court issued an order imposing a permanent injunction against the defendants in the case, ordering them to pay a US$19.3-million penalty and US$6.4 million in restitution to harmed investors.
One of the scheme’s participants, who allegedly misappropriated investors’ money, was convicted in 2022 of various criminal charges in connection with the case. He was sentenced to 100 months in prison and ordered to pay US$15.2 million in restitution and forfeiture.