Seventeen Individuals Charged for Participation in Forex Ponzi Scheme CryptoFX, Involving Up to $300M

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week charged seventeen individuals for their alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency Ponzi and foreign exchange scheme involving as much as $300 million.

According to the SEC, CryptoFX LLC, a Houston-based company, defrauded more than 40,000 Latino investors in the U.S. and two other countries.

In September 2022, the SEC had taken emergency action to halt CryptoFX's operations and charged two principals.

According to Gurbir S. Grewal, head of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, the fraudulent scheme told investors they could make "life-alerting wealth" and achieve "financial freedom" from "risk-free" and "guaranteed" investments in cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange.

As a result of the Commission's investigation, a number of individuals were involved in the Ponzi scheme, in addition to the two principals previously charged. Between May 2020 and October 2022, 17 suspects acted as CryptoFX leaders in the United States and lured investors into the investment scheme. They promised that CryptoFX could generate returns of 15% to 100% through crypto assets and forex trading. However, most of the money was not involved in the so-called trading, but was paid as profits, commissions and bonuses to the scammers themselves and other investors, or used for the scammers' personal spending.

Moreover, defendants Gabriel and Dulce Ochoa continued to solicit investors even after the court ordered CryptoFX to halt operations. Under the pretext of refunding their investments, Gabriel Ochoa instructed two investors to withdraw their complaints filed with the SEC. Another defendant, Maria Saravia, claimed that the SEC's lawsuit was fake.