Crypto Hedge Fund Operator Owes $84 Million in CFTC Fraud Case

A federal court ordered Jafia LLC and its owner to pay almost $84 million to crypto investors after finding they ran a Ponzi-like crypto fraud.

Sam Ikkurty, of Portland, Ore., made various misrepresentations about crypto hedge funds run by his firm Jafia, including statements about his experience trading crypto, Judge Mary Rowland in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said in a ruling Monday.

Ikkurty also paid inflated buyouts to fund investors using money from other investors, Rowland found, calling it a “classic Ponzi scheme.” The case was brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“Ikkurty ...