CTFC wins record $3.4B penalty payment in Bitcoin-related fraud case

A record-breaking $3.4 cardinal punishment has been handed down by a Judge successful a suit brought by a United States fiscal regulator involving a fraudulent strategy involving Bitcoin (BTC).

An April 27 statement from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Texas District Court Judge Lee Yeakel ordered Cornelius Johannes Steynberg to wage the sum for his relation successful perpetrating a fraudulent commodity excavation strategy involving overseas currency transactions and Bitcoin.

Steynberg, a South African nationalist and CEO of Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited (MTI), a purported trading and networking company, was ordered to wage $1.73 cardinal successful restitution to defrauded victims and an further $1.73 cardinal civilian monetary penalty.

The CFTC said it is the "highest civilian monetary punishment ordered successful immoderate CFTC case" and besides "the largest fraudulent strategy involving Bitcoin charged successful immoderate CFTC case."

Today, a national tribunal ordered a South African CEO to wage much than $3.4 cardinal for forex fraud, making this the CFTC’s largest fraud strategy lawsuit involving bitcoin. Learn more: https://t.co/X2vmHIRLkh

The bid explained that arsenic the caput of MTI, Steynberg “engaged successful an planetary fraudulent multilevel selling strategy to solicit Bitcoin from members of the nationalist for information successful an unregistered commodity pool,” the worth of which totaled much than $1.7 cardinal arsenic of March 2021.

From May 2018 to March 2021, the CFTC claimed helium accepted astatine slightest 29,421 BTC valued astatine much than $1.7 cardinal astatine the clip — but presently worthy astir $867 cardinal — from 23,000 individuals successful the U.S. and adjacent much globally.

“Either straight oregon indirectly, the defendants misappropriated each of the Bitcoin they accepted from excavation participants,” the CFTC wrote.

According to the April 27 order, Steynberg was recovered liable for fraud successful transportation with retail overseas currency transactions, fraud by an associated idiosyncratic of a commodity excavation relation (CPO), registration violations and nonaccomplishment to comply with CPO regulations.

Additionally, Steynberg is permanently prohibited from engaging successful behaviour that violates the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). He is besides permanently banned from registering with the CFTC oregon trading successful immoderate CFTC-regulated markets.

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On June 30, 2022, the CFTC announced that it had filed a civilian enforcement enactment successful national tribunal for fraud and registration violations against Steynberg.

Initially, Steynberg fled from South African instrumentality enforcement and is presently a fugitive but has been detained successful Brazil connected an INTERPOL apprehension warrant since December 2021.

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