The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged Vista Network Technologies and its CEO, Armen Temurian, with “fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of customers’ digital asset commodities.”
The CFTC claims that the defendants scammed over $7 million in Bitcoin and Ether from erstwhile customers. The CFTC described the fraud as Ponzi-like.
The CFTC complaint alleges that Vista and Temeruian falsely advertised to customers that it would trade their digital assets and earn a 2.5% daily return or “double in just 80 days” using robot traders. In fact, the complaint claims that Vista’s transaction records do not reflect any trading at all. No trading bot was uncovered. Some of the digital assets were used for personal purchases.
The complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The litigation is ongoing and the CFTC is seeking restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as charged.
CFTC Acting Director of Enforcement Gretchen Lowe commented, “It is just one more example of the CFTC’s efforts to protect retail customers from fraud related to digital asset commodities.”