The U.S. CFTC fines the founder of EmpiresX $130 million for cryptocurrency fraud

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the U.S. Federal Court has ordered the Brazilian founder of the illegal cryptocurrency investment platform EmpiresX to pay more than $130 million in fines and compensation.

On February 4, Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a permanent injunction, financial penalties, and other legal actions against EmpiresX founders Emerson Pires, Flavio Goncalves and their partner Joshua Nicholas.

According to court documents, Empires Consulting operated a fraudulent investment scheme called EmpiresX which falsely promised high returns to investors. Pires and Goncalves were accused of obtaining at least $40 million from victims through false cryptocurrency advertisements.