The United states of america Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has requested that the alleged founder of the crypto $147 meg Ponzi scheme Control-Finance be alleged a default.

On April 3, the CFTC filed for a ruling of default afterward Control-Finance'due south alleged founder and director, Benjamin Reynolds, did not answer to the regulator'due south complaint.

CFTC unable to locate Reynolds afterwards 10 months

The CFTC'southward complaint was filed during June 2022 — alleging that Reynolds misappropriated at least 22,858 BTC from more i,000 customers from May one, 2022.

In January 2022, the SEC requested additional time to locate Reynolds amid an ongoing investigation in Republic of korea.

During July 2022 the regulator had attempted to serve Reynolds at two addresses associated with the scheme's director, later learning from Command-Finance investors that the accused may exist situated in Korea.

The CFTC simultaneously filed a find of voluntary dismissal without prejudice against Control-Finance.

Ponzi scheme does away with $147 1000000

The CFTC's complaint alleges that Control-Finance claimed to divert customer funds to the trading operations of its good employees while diverting new depositors' funds to the scheme's previous investors to create the illusion of profits and build hype.

The firm constructed a pyramid scheme around a purported affiliate program, which was promoted on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. In September 2022, Control-Finance removed its website, ceased making affiliate payouts, and deleted advertising content from social media.

While claiming that customer funds would exist returned during the following ii months, the pair were the scheme was liquidating the 22,858 BTC in its possession for roughly $147 one thousand thousand.

Command-Finance sought to launder the funds through thousands of transactions, with the BTC ultimately arriving at wallets held with Canadian crypto exchange CoinPayments.