US CFTC recovers $18m worth of cryptocurrency from a commodity pool Ponzi scheme

The CFTC has recovered $18 million worth of digital assets in connection with an alleged commodity pool Ponzi scheme, according to a release from the commission. Sam Ikkurty, an Oregon man, was allegedly accused of defrauding investors from a so-called ‘crypto hedge fund,’ in which Ikkurty promised to return ‘net profits’ to investors but failed to do so, not even telling them that the fund's The fund's performance fell 98.99 per cent in a matter of months. Judge Mary Rowland of the U.S. District Court for 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 a civil penalty of approximately $110 million. Ikkurty was also required to pay more than $14 million in contempt fines.