A U.S. judge has ordered a convicted fraudster to pay a whopping $36 million due to a major crypto and forex scam. This includes a $5 million civil penalty and $31 million in restitution.
William Koo Ichioka, a New Yorker, kicked off his scheme back in 2018. He swindled over 100 victims, taking tens of millions of dollars from them. He falsely promised a 10% return every 30 business days, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
While Ichioka did invest some money into actual digital assets and forex, he misused investor funds for personal expenses. This included paying his rent and splurging on jewelry, watches, and luxury cars. He even created fake financial documents to keep the scam going.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) pointed out that he used money from new investors to pay returns to those who had already invested. This is a classic sign of a Ponzi scheme.
In 2023, Ichioka pleaded guilty to fraud charges. He received a sentence of 48 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The CFTC also took action against him, successfully getting a court order to ban him from trading in any markets regulated by them. Plus, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigated him as well.