Judge Orders EminiFX Founder to Repay $228M to Investors in Landmark Crypto Fraud Case

Crypto scam unravels as court cracks down on $228 million deception.

THE RECKONING

Another day, another crypto fraudster gets their comeuppance—this time to the tune of a quarter-billion dollars. The founder promised revolutionary trading algorithms but delivered nothing but empty wallets and broken dreams.

JUSTICE SERVED

The court didn't just slap wrists—it demanded full restitution. Every single dollar of that $228 million must flow back to investors who bought the too-good-to-be-true fantasy. Because in crypto, if returns sound like magic, they're probably just smoke and mirrors.

REGULATORY ECHOES

While decentralized dreams dance on blockchain, old-school justice still handles the cleanup. Another reminder that when promises outperform actual tech, someone's usually running a scheme—not a revolution.

Alexandre misleads investors to fulfill his selfish desires

EminiFX commenced its operations in 2021. In just eight months, the company attracted more than 25,000 investors. This increased its accumulation capacity to over $262 million. The company claimed it could provide weekly returns between 5% and 9.99% through a “Robo-Advisor Assisted Account,” which supposedly used automated trading strategies for crypto and forex markets. 

However, a court document disagreed with the above claims, backing this reaction with reliable data that exposed the actual status of the platform. Based on the information from the released data, EminiFX was experiencing net losses of approximately $49 million. Apart from this, it was made known that the platform never used the technology it fostered.

Investigators also discovered that Alexandre used around $15 million of the invested funds for his own personal benefits. This included purchasing luxury cars, paying his credit card bills, and making cash withdrawals. When disbursing money to investors, he used funds from new participants. 

Losses encountered from crypto fraud cases increase tension among crypto investors 

Following Alexandre’s fraudulent financial scam, legal actions were taken against him. In May 2022,  he faced similar actions from prosecutors and the CFTC. During the criminal case, he admitted to having committed commodities fraud. To serve as an example to those with intentions similar to his, Alexandre received a nine-year prison sentence and a fine of $213 million.

Judge Valerie Caproni ended the case with a ruling that included extra requirements for restitution and disgorgement. However,  the Court’s ruling stated that any payment Alexandre makes for restitution will reduce the money he is supposed to pay back for his disgorgement obligation.

Following this scenario, CertiK, the largest blockchain security auditor, highlighted that in the first half of 2025, losses from crypto scams, hacks, and exploits amounted to $2.47 billion.

Compared to the year’s first quarter, the crypto ecosystem encountered 800 million lost over 144 incidents in the second quarter. This resulted in a 52% decline in value, as there are 59 fewer hacks. Tension has also been sparked among crypto investors as these losses have increased by 3% compared to last year.

Meanwhile, as reported earlier by Cryptopolitan, Wall Street bankers are challenging aspects of the new US stablecoin law, which President Donald TRUMP and the crypto industry hailed as a milestone toward a fully regulated market. Unusually, they are joined by consumer advocacy groups in raising concerns.

This week, the American Bankers Association and other banking lobby groups joined forces with Americans for Financial Reform, typically a vocal critic of Wall Street policies, and the National Consumer Law Center to push for revisions to the stablecoin law.

They aim to remove or modify provisions they believe could disrupt aspects of the current financial system. One key provision of the law, known as the GENIUS) The Act allows a stablecoin-issuing subsidiary of a state-chartered, uninsured depository institution to offer money-transmission and custody services across the US, a MOVE bankers contend circumvents existing state licensing and oversight requirements.

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