Speculative Trade Ponzi Defendant Owes $16 Million After Default

Piptastic Ltd. is on the hook for more than $16.3 million in a speculative trading Ponzi scheme case after the SEC secured a default judgment from a federal judge in Massachusetts.

The company and director Damon Elliott allegedly used fake account statements to make investors think they were accruing large returns when their accounts were actually “essentially empty.” Piptastic failed to answer the Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said.

Piptastic must pay more than $7.7 million as a civil fine, Judge Leo T. Sorokin said. The amended final judgment also ...