Page 30 - 期貨和衍生品行業(yè)監(jiān)管動(dòng)態(tài)（2024年7月刊）
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期貨和衍生品行業(yè)監(jiān)管動(dòng)態(tài)
disgorgement jointly and severally against Sam Ikkurty of Oregon and Jafia, LLC,
Ikkurty Capital, LLC d/b/a Rose City Income Fund I, Rose City Income Fund II, and
Seneca Ventures, LLC (defendants). In addition, the summary judgment order also
found the defendants misappropriated funds through a carbon offset program.
The order finds Ikkurty and the defendants committed all alleged violations of
the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, including fraud and
failure to register. Judge Rowland also found the defendants operated as “a classic
Ponzi scheme,” including in connection with the defendants’ carbon offset program.
The CFTC will seek injunctive relief and a civil monetary penalty.
Case Background
The summary judgment order finds Ikkurty recruited participants to his funds
through webinars and trade shows by promising participants they would earn a steady
distribution of 15% income per year of supposed “net profits” through investments in
digital asset commodities such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and commodity interests.
Ikkurty touted the purported success of his prior fund to lure new participants to
invest. Ikkurty assured prospective participants he invested in “stable” digital assets.
Ikkurty also gained participants’ confidence by repeatedly telling stories of his
personal success investing in and trading digital assets. Few of Ikkurty’s statements
were true. In reality, per the summary judgment order, Ikkurty did not return any net
profits to participants, and instead “ran something akin to a Ponzi scheme.” Citing the
CFTC investigator’s testimony, Judge Rowland found Ikkurty’s marketing materials
misstated his fund’s historical performance and omitted the fact that the fund fell in
value by 98.99% over a period of a few months. Also, the order finds Ikkurty invested
in unstable digital asset commodities, some related to carbon offsets, and his actual
experience with digital assets consisted of losing his personal Bitcoins to a hack.
Notably, in addition to the misrepresentations, the summary judgment order also
finds the defendants misappropriated funds through a carbon offset program. The
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