The SEC has charged 17 individuals involved in a $300 million Ponzi scheme targeting primarily Latino investors through the so-called CryptoFX LLC.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged 17 individuals for their involvement in a $300 million Ponzi scheme that targeted Latino investors in the United States and two other countries.
The scheme, detailed in a press release issued March 14, reportedly operated out of Houston, Texas, and offered “risk-free” and “guaranteed” financing to more than 40,000 investors across 10 states and two foreign countries. Cryptocurrencies promise significant wealth. And foreign exchange investment.
The SEC’s action follows a previous emergency intervention in September 2022 that halted CryptoFX’s operations and implicated key figures Mauricio Chavez and Giorgio Benvenuto.
According to the investigation, 17 individuals from Texas, California, Louisiana, Illinois, and Florida are accused of coordinating the CryptoFX network and luring investors with potential returns ranging from 15% to 100%. But the funds allegedly earmarked for trading were instead used “to pay commissions and bonuses to themselves and their investors and to fund their own lifestyles,” the SEC says.
The SEC charged the defendants with fraud, violations of regulations related to securities registration, broker registration, and whistleblower protections. Two of the defendants, Luis Serrano and Julio Taffinder, accepted final verdicts without admitting or denying guilt, the SEC said. They agreed to pay a total of more than $68,000 in fines, restitution and interest.