Two U.S. men allegedly defrauded hundreds of investors for $44 million collectively. cryptocurrency He is accused of running the Ponzi scheme.
Scammers Collected Investors’ Money with a Lie to Invest in Cryptocurrencies
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) officials claim that Sam Ikkurty and Ravishankar Avadhanam, as well as several legal entities controlled by the defendants, are working together to persuade their victims to invest in “a so-called income fund invested in digital assets.”
The defendants are also charged with operating an illegal commodity pool and failing to register with the CFTC as a Commodity Pool Operator.
Investors who think that Ikkurty and Avadhanam will invest in the so-called companies Ikkurty Capital, Rose City Income Fund and Seneca Ventures starting from 2017 will be giving their money to investors. bitcoin and to invest in various cryptocurrencies, with some allegedly promising very high returns of up to 62% per year. According to the complaints, the duo advertised through videos posted on YouTube as well as a website.
Some of the Funds Collected Was Distributed to Former Investors with the Ponzi scheme logic
Instead, the CFTC said that Ikkurty and Avadhanam pooled investor funds and “distributed most of these funds as profits to other participants in a pyramid-like fashion.”
The CFTC also said that Ikkurty and Avadhanam kept $18 million for themselves and transferred the funds to “other participants” and offshore entities under their control.
A federal court in Illinois has issued a restraining order that freezes the assets in question, preserves documents related to the alleged ponzi scheme, and appoints a temporary trustee for investor funds.
The CFTC seeks restitution, compensation, civil fines and permanent trade bans and injunctions against future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
It has been learned that the first hearing of the case will be held on May 25.
*Not investment advice.