CFTC accuses Mirror Trading of $1.7 billion bitcoin scam
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has accused the South African company Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited (MTI) and its head Cornelius Johannes Steinberg of cryptocurrency fraud and registration violations.
The agency emphasized that the pyramid scheme organized by MTI is currently the largest fraud using bitcoin, which was charged by the CFTC.
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The commission alleges that Steinberg created an international “multi-level marketing scheme” through which he received more than $1.7 billion.
According to US authorities, MTI raised money from investors for leveraged over-the-counter foreign exchange retail trading.
Instead, however, the company misappropriated the money of at least 23,000 people, distorting information about the results of trading and creating a fictitious broker through which transactions were allegedly made.
“In fact, the small trading operations carried out by the defendants were unprofitable. They misappropriated at least 29,421 BTC received from investors,” the CFTC said.
The Commission is demanding a full refund to the victims, as well as the payment of a fine.
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