California judge orders man to pay $36 million for cryptocurrency and forex fraud

PANews reported on September 21 that according to The Block, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered 30-year-old William Koo Ichioka to pay $31 million in compensation to victims and a $5 million civil penalty. In June 2023, the CFTC accused Ichioka of embezzling cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange funds such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is reported that Ichioka used part of the investor funds to invest in start-up stocks, digital asset commodities and foreign exchange transactions, but he also mixed the participants' funds with his own funds and used the money to pay for other expenses such as rent, restaurants, bars, taxis, gym memberships and luxury cars.