SEC Charges 17 Individuals in $300 Million Crypto Asset Ponzi Scheme Targeting the Latino Community

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 17 individuals for their roles in a $300 million Ponzi scheme that involved Houston, Texas-based CryptoFX LLC and targeted more than 40,000 predominantly Latino investors in the U.S. and two other countries. Today’s complaint follows the SEC’s successful emergency action in September 2022 that halted the CryptoFX scheme and charged its two main principals, Mauricio Chavez and Giorgio Benvenuto. “We allege that CryptoFX was a $300 million Ponzi scheme that targeted Latino investors with promises of financial freedom and life-altering wealth from ‘risk free’ and ‘guaranteed’ crypto and foreign exchange investments,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.