The SEC has charged 17 individuals with involvement in a $300 million Ponzi scheme that primarily targeted Latino investors through a so-called CryptoFX LLC.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 17 individuals with involvement in a $300 million Ponzi scheme that targeted primarily Latino investors in the United States and two other countries.
As detailed in a press release issued on March 14th, the scheme will operate out of Houston, Texas and target more than 40,000 investors in 10 states and two international countries with a “risk-free” ” and allegedly promised large sums of wealth through “guaranteed” cryptocurrencies. and foreign exchange investment.
The SEC's latest action follows a previous emergency intervention that shut down CryptoFX's operations in September 2022 and involved its principals Mauricio Chavez and Giorgio Benvenuto.
According to the investigation, the 17 indicted individuals from Texas, California, Louisiana, Illinois, and Florida are suspected of organizing a CryptoFX network and luring investors with potential profits ranging from 15% to 100%. has been accused of. But the funds allegedly allocated to the trades were instead used “to pay fees and bonuses to themselves and their investors, and to fund their own lifestyles,” the SEC said.
The SEC brought various charges against the defendants, accusing them of fraud, violations of securities registration, broker registration, and whistleblower protection rules. The SEC noted that two of the defendants, Luis Serrano and Julio Tafinder, accepted the final sentences without admitting or denying their guilt. They agreed to pay a total of more than $68,000 in fines, disgorgement and interest.
