The CFTC filed a civil lawsuit in the California Central District Court against David Carmona, Juan Arellano Parra, Moses Valdez, David Brend and Marco A. Ruiz Ochoa Ochoa), accusing them of organizing Icomtech. The agency claims that the target audience for the project were Hispanic communities.
The project managed to raise several hundred thousand dollars from more than 170 users under the promise of trading in bitcoins and other crypto assets. From August 2018 to December 2019, Icomtech representatives promised investors a daily profit of 0.9% to 2.8% of the deposit amount. The organizers of Icomtech promised to double the amount available on the accounts of customers in four to eight months after the start of trading.
The defendants did not trade crypto assets, the regulator insists. Investors never received the declared profit, and representatives of the crypto pyramid simply appropriated client funds, spending them on personal needs.
The CFTC is seeking the return of funds received from investors, administrative fines, and a permanent investment injunction to prevent further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations from the defendants.
Last year, the regulator accused the founder of the crypto derivatives platform Digitex of lack of registration and illegal business activities. Recently, CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero warned that the agency will not become more crypto-friendly than the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Source: Bits
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