The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed charges against a husband and wife, accusing them of engaging in illicit crypto activities that defrauded more than a hundred individuals. The alleged scheme involved a digital assets commodity pool which they named “Blessings of God Thru Crypto.”
According to claims by the regulatory authority, the couple purportedly masterminded a deceptive investment venture, enticing unsuspecting investors across the United States with promises of lucrative returns through their cryptocurrency pool.
The Tennessee couple, Michael and Amanda Griffis, who own a real estate business in Clarksville, are accused of defrauding at least $6 million from over 100 victims in a six-month period through a fraudulent investment scam.
Using God’s Name To Dupe People
The CFTC accused the Griffises of enticing people to join a commodity pool named “Blessings of God Thru Crypto” to trade digital asset futures with the assurance of secure investments and big rewards in a complaint lodged in federal district court on Tuesday.
Additionally, victims were promised that transactions would be conducted in accordance with the recommendations of a figure only known as “Coach Wendy,” who was said to have a group of skilled financial traders.
The couple falsely said that investor funds would be secure and that they would keep control of them while using them to trade “crypto futures” on the “Apex Trading Platform.” Tragically, the blessings that had been promised had just served as a cover for their dishonest behavior.
Bitcoin still clinging to the $29K handle. Chart: TradingView.com
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,”” according to the complaint.
The complaint also claimed that the couple spent nearly $1 million on fine jewelry and an all-terrain vehicle for their personal use. According to the CFTC, more than $4 million that was purportedly delivered to Apex Trading was actually transferred to a “variety of digital wallets” and is no longer retrievable.
Crypto Scam Red Flag: Withdrawals Prohibited
The pair did make roughly $855,000 in “Ponzi-like payments” to five individuals to maintain the entire scheme. However, they allegedly turned down requests from other participants to withdraw money from the pool, which was open from July 2022 through January 2023, the complaint read.
The CFTC’s director of enforcement, Ian McGinley, issued the following statement:
““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.”
In addition to seeking monetary damages for the victims of the scam, the CFTC’s lawsuit calls for a lifetime ban on the couple’s participation in commodity trading and registration with the agency.
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