According to an announcement released by the CFTC, the commission has recovered $18 million worth of digital assets related to an alleged commodity pool Ponzi scheme. Oregon man Sam Ikkurty is allegedly accused of defrauding investors from a so-called "crypto hedge fund" that promised to return "net profits" to investors but failed to deliver, not even telling investors that the fund's performance had fallen 98.99% in a few months.
U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland of the Northern District of Illinois ordered Ikkurty and several other related entities to pay a total of $209 million in penalties, including nearly $84 million in customer restitution, approximately $37 million in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and approximately $110 million in civil penalties. Ikkurty was also ordered to pay more than $14 million in contempt of court penalties.