The Commodities and Futures Commission has charged a Texas man for operating a fraudulent investment scheme. The accused, Abner Alejandro Tinoco, and his alleged fraudulent firm Kikit & Mess Investment misappropriated up to $3.9 million of investors’ funds.
61 Investors Were Victims Of The Fraudulent Scheme
According to the agency, the accused has been operating the scheme since September last year. Abner allegedly collected funds from about 61 clients, promising them high returns from investments in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange.
However, the CFTC claimed that the defendants deliberately kept their clients’ funds out of managed accounts. Instead, they used the funds for the accused personal benefits. Some of the funds were used to pay false dividends to earlier investors as a way of convincing others to invest.
According to the CFTC, the fraudulent business was operated as a Ponzi scheme. It also alleged that the perpetrators use different aliases and channels such as the Kikit platform to advertise the scheme and get funds from their victims.
“The vast majority of the clients’ funds were used to pay Tinoco’s personal expenses,” the agency noted. These include funding a luxury lifestyle, purchasing real estate, leasing a luxury automobile, renting a luxury mansion, as well as chartering a private jet.
The CFTC Seeks Restitution For Affected Investors
The commission says it has already filed charges against the accused and is now seeking restitution for the affected investors. It’s also seeking civil monetary penalties and disgorgement of the ill-gotten gains.
The CFTC has also filed for the permanent trading and registration ban of Tinoco. The agency wants sanctions for the further violation of regulations.
The assets of the accused have been frozen by a US judge after signing a restraining order on the assets. Also, a temporary receiver has been appointed and an order has been given to preserving the records.
CFTC has intensified efforts in its monitoring of the forex and crypto market. But despite this effort, some fraudulent schemes still spring up from time to time.