The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission won a $31.5 million default judgment against two Fundsz board members over an alleged digital asset fraud scheme.
A Florida federal court ordered Brian Early and Alisha Ann Kingrey to pay restitution and civil penalties after finding that they made misleading claims about Fundsz investments. The court also permanently barred both from trading and registering with the CFTC.
Court Details Fundsz Misrepresentations
The court found that Early and Kingrey misled investors about potential profits, trading risks and Fundsz’s past performance. They claimed a proprietary algorithm traded participants’ money and that investors could withdraw their funds, plus interest, after 180 days.
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The CFTC’s 2023 complaint alleged that Fundsz did not actually trade customer funds. Instead, investors were shown fictional weekly returns. The scheme also advertised weekly returns above 3% and claimed a $2,500 investment could grow to $1 million in 48 months.
CFTC Orders Restitution and Penalties
The court ordered Early and Kingrey to pay $15.73 million in restitution and $15.75 million in civil penalties, closing the remaining claims against the two defendants.
The CFTC cautioned that the court-ordered payments may not fully cover investors’ losses. Therefore, the judgment does not guarantee that victims will recover all funds they lost.
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