A federal decide in New York ordered Eddy Alexandre, founding father of the collapsed crypto platform EminiFX, to pay greater than $228 million in restitution after ruling the corporate was a Ponzi scheme that defrauded tens of 1000’s of buyers.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) secured a abstract judgment in opposition to Alexandre and EminiFX, with US District Judge Valerie Caproni holding them collectively answerable for greater than $228 million in restitution and a further $15 million in disgorgement, in accordance to a Tuesday court docket submitting.
“Defendants Alexandre and EminiFX are collectively and severally liable to pay restitution within the whole quantity of $228,576,962,” the court docket dominated. “Defendant Alexandre is liable to pay disgorgement within the quantity of $15,049,500.”
The ruling comes greater than three years after Alexandre was first charged and greater than a yr after he pleaded responsible in a parallel prison case.
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EminiFX raised $262 million on faux robo-trading claims
EminiFX launched in 2021 and shortly attracted over 25,000 buyers, elevating greater than $262 million in simply eight months. The firm promised weekly returns of 5% to 9.99% by a so-called “Robo-Advisor Assisted Account” that allegedly deployed automated buying and selling methods in crypto and foreign exchange markets.
In actuality, court docket filings present the platform sustained web losses of no less than $49 million and by no means deployed the know-how it marketed.
According to investigators, Alexandre siphoned off no less than $15 million for private use, funding bank card payments, luxurious vehicles and money withdrawals. Meanwhile, investor withdrawals had been paid out utilizing commingled funds from new individuals.
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Court sentences EminiFX founder to 9 years
Alexandre’s downfall started in May 2022 when prosecutors and the CFTC filed parallel actions. In the prison case, he admitted to commodities fraud and was sentenced to 9 years in jail, together with a $213 million restitution order.
The civil case, now concluded with Caproni’s order, provides a parallel restitution and disgorgement mandate, although any funds towards restitution “shall offset his disgorgement obligation,” per the court docket ruling.
The court-appointed receiver, who has been overseeing the restoration and distribution of belongings since 2022, started paying out recovered funds to victims earlier this yr after a distribution plan was accepted in January.
Losses from crypto hacks, scams and exploits reached $2.47 billion within the first half of 2025, in accordance with CertiK. While Q2 noticed $800 million misplaced throughout 144 incidents, a 52% drop in worth and 59 fewer hacks in comparison with Q1, the yr’s whole to date is already up nearly 3% from 2024.
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