Tags: bitcoin fraud | cftc

US Court Fines South African $3.4B for Bitcoin Fraud

US Court Fines South African $3.4B for Bitcoin Fraud
(Dreamstime)

Friday, 28 April 2023 07:01 AM EDT

A federal judge in Texas ordered the head of a South African firm to pay a whopping $3.4 billion for what the U.S. commodities regulator said was its largest-ever fraud case involving bitcoin.

Cornelius Johannes Steynberg was ordered to pay $1.7 billion in restitution to victims of the fraud scheme and another $1.7 billion as a civil penalty, a record for any Commodity Futures Trading Commission case, the regulator said in a statement Thursday.

Steynberg, whose last known residence was in South Africa, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The CFTC charged Steynberg in July, saying Mirror Trading solicited bitcoin online from thousands of people to purportedly operate a commodity pool. The firm claimed to trade off-exchange, retail foreign currency with participants who were not eligible to trade, the regulator said.

From May 2018 to March 2021, Steynberg accepted and misappropriated at least 29,421 bitcoin - valued at over $1.7 billion by the end of the period - from about 23,000 participants from the U.S., including more than 1,300 in Texas, the CFTC said.

The default judgment against Steynberg was granted by Judge Lee Yeakel in the Western District of Texas, according to a court filing.

© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


StreetTalk
A federal judge in Texas ordered the head of a South African firm to pay a whopping $3.4 billion for what the U.S. commodities regulator said was its largest-ever fraud case involving bitcoin.
bitcoin fraud, cftc
197
2023-01-28
Friday, 28 April 2023 07:01 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
Newsmax2 Live
 
On Now:5:00p ET • The Todd Starnes Show
Coming Up:6:00p ET • Ed Henry The Briefing
Get Newsmax Text Alerts

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
MONEYNEWS.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved