Court Fines VCI and Its Principal $900,000 for Operating Ponzi Scheme

​The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has granted the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s motion for a default judgment against a Venture Capital Investments LLC (VCI) and its principal and manager Breonna Clark, who operated a digital asset and forex Ponzi scheme that fraudulently solicited and misappropriated funds from clients.

Specifically, the U.S. regulator alleged in its complaint that the defendants fraudulently solicited more than 72 clients to invest in commodity pools that purportedly trade in forex and digital assets, including bitcoin, only to then misappropriate the money.

Further, in connection with the promotion of his fraud, Clark and his company made a series of materially false claims to lure investors interested in trading, by using social media, touting the ability of their purported “master team of traders” to provide consistent trading profits.

For his many crimes, Clark and his company are required to pay $450,302 in restitution to defrauded clients, a civil monetary penalty of $450,302 and the CFTC’s costs.

Additionally, the defendants are now permanently enjoined from engaging in conduct that violates the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as well as banned from registering with the CFTC and trading in any CFTC-regulated markets.

The CFTC cautions victims that restitution orders may not result in the recovery of money lost because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.