CFTC Cites $1.7 Billion in Multilevel Marketing (MLM) Fraud Scam

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued Cornelius Johannes Steynberg and Mirror Trading International Proprietary Limited (MTI) for alleged multilevel marketing (MLM) fraud scam. Statement of @CFTCjohnson Regarding the CFTC Charging South African Commodity Pool Operator and CEO with $1.7 Billion Fraud Involving Bitcoin. https://t.co/fKElfwQq5H — CFTC (@CFTC) June 30, 2022 Steynberg is accused of participating in international multilevel marketing (MLM) fraud scam that generated 29,421 BTC, or more than $1.7 billion, according to the complaint. Steynberg allegedly utilized his company MTI in the plan, which lasted for almost three years, from May 18, 2018, to March 30, 2021, according to the agency. Western District of Texas Received Civil Lawsuit The US District Court for the Western District of Texas received the civil lawsuit. CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson, in a press release, “The little trading that Defendants did was unprofitable, and they misappropriated essentially all of the at least 29,421 Bitcoin accepted from participants,” The CFTC announced in May that it was expanding resources to monitor the cryptocurrency sector, and the allegations against Steynberg and MTI are its most recent moves. Gemini Trust Company LLC, also known as Gemini, was the subject of a complaint from the CFTC earlier this month for allegedly deceiving authorities in 2017. The cryptocurrency exchange allegedly submitted “mat...