CFTC Orders Over $130 Million Penalty For EmpiresX Founders

According to Odaily, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that a U.S. federal court has ordered the Brazilian founders of the illegal cryptocurrency investment platform EmpiresX to pay over $130 million in fines and restitution. On February 4, Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida issued a permanent injunction, economic penalties, and other legal actions against EmpiresX founders Emerson Pires, Flavio Goncalves, and their associate Joshua Nicholas. The case was initially filed on June 30, 2022, and resulted in a default judgment due to the defendants' failure to respond to the charges by the deadline. Court documents reveal that Empires Consulting operated a fraudulent investment scheme known as EmpiresX, which falsely promised high returns to investors. Pires and Goncalves were accused of obtaining at least $40 million from victims through deceptive cryptocurrency advertisements. Instead of investing these funds as promised, the founders misused them to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum, restricted withdrawals, and displayed fictitious profits from non-existent investments. The EmpiresX founders used the funds for personal expenses, including luxury purchases and travel. Despite these actions, investigators managed to recover approximately $22.8 million in digital assets from them.