- CFTC bans Joseph Kim from engaging in all trading activities.
- Man to serve 15 months’ jail time for defrauding investors of hundreds of dollars.
Cryptocurrency fraud has been on the rise this year. Coincheck exchange suffered one of the works hack attacks where the criminals made away with over $530 million. Besides, there has been countless hack attacks on the exchanges and other digital assets network.
The United States Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reported to have not only fined a crypto trader, the authority has ruled that the man serve 15 months behind bars. The trader, a resident of Arizona pleaded guilty for scamming investors. Evidence show that the trader, Joseph Kim, defrauded colossal amounts of money following the misappropriation of over $600,000 of the funds belong to his former employer. Cointelegraph, a crypto news website reports:
“Between September and November 2017, Kim transferred bitcoin and litecoin from his employer, a Chicago-based trading firm, to his own personal accounts, causing the firm losses of $601,000, according to the release.”
The employer fired Kim on learning of the misappropriation of funds. However, Kim continued with the fraudulent activities after leaving the firm. He lied that he had opened his own trading company while soliciting for funds from unsuspecting investors. It is said that Kim collected about $545,000; funds belong to 5 investors. He later lost all the funds due to the high-risk-trades he was making.
The CFTC has fined him $1,146,000 and barred him from ever engaging in trading activities. Moreover, he was sentenced to 15 months in jail. The press released, published on Friday stated that:
“Today’s Order stands as yet another in the string of cases showing the CFTC’s commitment to actively police the virtual currency markets and protect the public interest.”
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