The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that a federal judge ordered William Koo Ichioka to pay over $36 million in a case involving fraudulent foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency schemes.
The ruling, issued Sept. 19 by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Vince Chhabria, requires Ichioka, a New York resident and former San Francisco resident, to pay $31 million in restitution to defrauded victims and $5 million in civil penalties.
The case revolves around a fraudulent investment scheme that Ichioka orchestrated starting in 2018. According to the court’s initial consent decree, Ichioka deceived participants by promising 10% returns every 30 business days. While he invested some of the funds in forex and cryptocurrency commodities, Ichioka used the majority of the participants’ money for personal expenses, including rent, luxury vehicles and high-end jewelry.
To cover up his fraud, Ichioka created false financial documents and overstated the value of assets under his control by providing false account statements to his investors.
*This is not investment advice.