CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump issued a separate statement just to clarify that the CFTC regulates cash or “spot” transactions in Bitcoin or other digital assets.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has charged Dwayne Golden, Jatin Patel of India, Marquis Egerton, and Gregory Aggesen with fraud for operating Ponzi schemes involving bitcoin.
The individuals have solicited more than $44 million of investments and misappropriated millions of dollars, according to the complaint, which seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans.
“This case illustrates how fraudsters never tire of devising schemes to separate people from their hard-earned money, and digital asset frauds are no exception,” said Acting Director of Enforcement Vincent McGonagle.
The CFTC claims that Golden, Patel, and Egerton operated the websites Empowercoin and Ecoinplus, which have raised more than $23 million of bitcoin and misappropriated $9.8 million worth of bitcoin.
In addition, Golden, Patel, Aggesen, and an accomplice, operated the website JetCoin, which raised another $21 million of bitcoin and misappropriated approximately $7.8 million worth of Bitcoin.
In exchange, the websites promised that professionals would trade their bitcoin with profits being paid daily. In a typical Ponzi scheme, customer’s bitcoins were either misappropriated or used to make supposed profit payments.
CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump issued a…
