Page 40 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2023年7月刊）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

underpinned by the trust the victims placed in the defendants,” said Director of

Enforcement Ian McGinley. “The defendants betrayed their pool participants, and they

profited from that betrayal. Today’s filing reinforces the CFTC’s long-standing
commitment to hold accountable those who take advantage of victims.”

Case Background

The complaint alleges the defendants, owners of a Clarksville, Tennessee real

estate company, contacted colleagues and customers of their real estate business and

offered them the opportunity to pool funds with others to trade digital asset commodity

futures contracts. Despite having no trading or other relevant experience, the defendants

successfully convinced over 100 people to send them over $6 million to participate in

a commodity pool called “Blessings of God Thru Crypto.” The defendants falsely

represented that pool funds would be safe and under their control, that pool participants

could expect high gains, and that the defendants would use pool funds to trade “crypto

futures” on the “Apex Trading Platform” with the advice of a person identified only as

“Coach Wendy.” As further alleged in the complaint, the defendants leveraged their

personal and professional relationships, developed through their real estate business, to
convince victims the pool scheme was legitimate.

Over $4 million in pool funds purportedly sent to the “Apex Trading Platform”

were instead quickly transferred to a variety of digital wallets outside the control of the

defendants and are now beyond recovery. Further, the defendants misappropriated

approximately $1 million of pool funds to pay their debts and purchase various items

including expensive jewelry and an all-terrain vehicle. In an effort to perpetuate the

scheme as long as possible, the remainder of pool funds were misappropriated by the

defendants to issue Ponzi-like payments.

The CFTC cautions that orders requiring repayment of funds to victims may not

result in the recovery of any money lost because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient

funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of
customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.

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