A US judge this week ordered a convicted fraudster to pay a $5 million civil penalty and $31 million in restitution related to a massive crypto and forex scheme he orchestrated.
New York resident William Koo Ichioka kicked off his scheme in 2018 and swindled tens of millions of dollars in investment funds from more than 100 victims by making false claims that he could secure a 10% return every 30 business days, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Ichioka did sink money into some real digital assets and forex investments, but he also used investor cash to pay his rent and buy jewelry, watches and luxury vehicles, and he perpetuated the fraud by crafting false financial documents.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) also notes the convicted fraudster kept the con going by repaying existing investors with new investor funds, the hallmark of a classic Ponzi scheme.
Ichioka pled guilty to fraud charges in 2023 and was sentenced to 48 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
The CFTC pursued a parallel enforcement action to Ichioka’s criminal conviction and convinced the court to ban him from trading in any markets overseen by the commodities regulator. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also investigated Ichioka.
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