US judge orders individual to pay $36M for forex, digital asset fraud

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US judge ordered an individual to pay more than $36 million for forex and digital asset fraud, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said.

Judge Vince Chhabria of the US District Court for the Northern District of California entered an order Thursday assessing monetary relief totaling over $36 million against William Koo Ichioka, a New York resident formerly of San Francisco, the commission said in a statement on Friday.

The order requires Ichioka to pay $31 million in restitution to defrauded victims, and a $5 million civil monetary penalty in connection with his fraudulent foreign currency (forex) and digital asset fraud scheme, it added.

The initial consent order found Ichioka engaged in a fraudulent scheme beginning in 2018, in which he accepted investment funds from participants with false claims of a 10% return every 30 business days.

"Although Ichioka invested some funds in forex and digital asset commodities, he commingled participant money with his own funds and used participant funds for his own personal expenses, including, among other things, rent for his personal residence, jewelry, including watches, and luxury vehicles," said the statement.

"To conceal his fraudulent activity, Ichioka overstated the value of assets he held by generating false financial documents and presenting false account statements to participants," it added.

Ichioka pleaded guilty to charges, and subsequently was sentenced to 48 months in prison, given an additional term of five years of supervised release, said the CFTC.