- A U.S. federal court ordered William Ku Ichioka to pay $31 million in restitution and a $5 million monetary penalty.
- A New York resident has been charged with defrauding victims in forex and cryptocurrency scams and ordered to pay a total of $36 million.
A New York man must pay $36 million in fines for defrauding victims in a forex and cryptocurrency scam.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced in a press release on September 20 that William Ku Ichioka, a former San Francisco resident, will pay $31 million in restitution and a $5 million civil penalty to victims of the fraud.
The fines were imposed in an order issued Sept. 19 by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California.
CFTC files complaint against Ichioka in June 2023
The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against Ichioka in June 2023. The charges allege that he fraudulently solicited and stole more than $21 million from more than 100 commodity pool participants. Ichioka pleaded guilty to the charges and agreed to the sentencing order.
The charges against Ichioka relate to a 2018 incident in which he lied to people involved in an investment fund.
The individual claimed that investors would receive a 10% return every 30 days. However, this did not happen and Ichioka used his own money to steal from his victims and use it for personal expenses such as rent, jewelry, and luxury vehicles.
“Ichioka created falsified financial documents to conceal his fraudulent activities and presented falsified account statements to participants, thereby overstating the value of his assets,” the CFTC said in a press release.
Parallel criminal cases
Ichioka also pleaded guilty in June 2023 to charges brought by the Department of Justice, which were brought concurrently with the CFTC complaint. The charges included wire fraud, false tax returns, and commodity fraud. The court sentenced Ichioka to 48 months in prison on five counts.
He was also sentenced to five years of probation. The court imposed a fine of $5 million and restitution of $31,330,715.86.
On August 14, 2023, the court entered a permanent injunction, prohibiting Ichioka from any future violations. He was also prohibited from trading on any market regulated by the CFTC or registering with the regulator.
According to the CFTC, the order and monetary fine conclude the CFTC’s enforcement action against the New York resident.