The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has accused Tennessee couple Michael and Amanda Griffis of running the $6 million Blessings of God Thru Crypto scam.
According to a complaint filed by the CFTC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, from July 2022 to January 2023, Michael & Amanda Griffis ran the multimillion-dollar Blessings of God Thru Crypto commodity pool.
The defendants contacted their real estate colleagues and clients to lure them into the pool. Despite the lack of trading experience, the organizers of the scheme managed to persuade more than 100 people to send them over $6 million. Using their professional connections, they were able to convince the victims that the "project" was legitimate.
The Griffis assured investors that their funds were safe and under control, and promised high returns. They stated that the invested money would be used to trade cryptocurrency futures on the Apex Trading Platform on the advice of a certain “coach Wendy”.
According to the regulator, instead of sending money to the trading platform, more than $4 million was transferred to various digital wallets beyond the control of the defendants, and now these funds are not recoverable. At the same time, the Griffiss misappropriated about $ 1 million, spending it on paying off their debts and buying luxury goods.
The CFTC demanded that the violators return the funds to the defrauded pool participants and pay an administrative fine. In addition, the regulator considers it necessary to establish a permanent ban on the organization of trading in such financial instruments for spouses, in order to avoid further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC rules.
According to a complaint filed by the CFTC in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, from July 2022 to January 2023, Michael & Amanda Griffis ran the multimillion-dollar Blessings of God Thru Crypto commodity pool.
The defendants contacted their real estate colleagues and clients to lure them into the pool. Despite the lack of trading experience, the organizers of the scheme managed to persuade more than 100 people to send them over $6 million. Using their professional connections, they were able to convince the victims that the "project" was legitimate.
The Griffis assured investors that their funds were safe and under control, and promised high returns. They stated that the invested money would be used to trade cryptocurrency futures on the Apex Trading Platform on the advice of a certain “coach Wendy”.
According to the regulator, instead of sending money to the trading platform, more than $4 million was transferred to various digital wallets beyond the control of the defendants, and now these funds are not recoverable. At the same time, the Griffiss misappropriated about $ 1 million, spending it on paying off their debts and buying luxury goods.
The CFTC demanded that the violators return the funds to the defrauded pool participants and pay an administrative fine. In addition, the regulator considers it necessary to establish a permanent ban on the organization of trading in such financial instruments for spouses, in order to avoid further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC rules.
