- The CFTC has charged four individuals it claims were involved in operating a ponzi scheme that swindled $44 million of bitcoin from investors
- Regulators should focus on establishing rules rather than retroactive charges, one attorney said
A US regulator has charged four individuals with fraud surrounding an alleged crypto ponzi scheme that raised more than $44 million of bitcoin.
The case, brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), highlights the escalating jurisdiction battle over digital asset regulation, an attorney said.
“This case is indicative of the high-profile matters regulatory agencies desire when it comes to crypto oversight,” Braden Perry, partner at Kennyhertz Perry, said. “[There is] a rift between regulators, and the jurisdictional war has been ongoing between the CFTC and [the Securities and Exchange Commission], who are fighting to expand their regulatory remit over the crypto and [decentralized finance] industry.”
The CFTC has charged Florida resident Dwayne Golden, North Carolina resident Marquis Egerton, New York resident Gregory Aggesen and Indian citizen Jatin Patel in connection to the ponzi scheme.
According to the complaint filed Tuesday, the quartet operated several websites – Empowercoin, Ecoinplus and later JetCoin – from April to August 2017.
The sites promised users that invested funds would be doubled in less than…
