According to a statement released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California ordered 30-year-old William Koo Ichioka to pay $31 million to victims and a $5 million civil penalty.

The CFTC charged Ichioka in June 2023 with misappropriating funds in a scheme involving cryptocurrency (including Bitcoin and Ethereum) and foreign exchange trading. As part of a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also brought charges against him.

Ichioka claimed to be an "early pursuer of wealth, who had already accumulated millions of dollars in wealth." According to court documents, he told investors that participation in his commodity liquidity pool would generate a 10% return every 30 business days.

Ichioka did use a portion of investors' funds to invest in startup stocks, digital asset commodities, and foreign exchange trading, but he also "commingled participant funds with his own funds" and used the money to pay for other expenses, including rent, restaurants, bars, ride-sharing services, gym memberships, and luxury cars.