The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered an order September 19 assessing monetary relief totaling over $36 million against William Koo Ichioka, a New York resident formerly of San Francisco.
The order requires Ichioka to pay $31 million in restitution to defrauded victims and a $5 million civil monetary penalty in connection with his fraudulent Forex and digital asset fraud scheme.
On August 14, 2023, the court entered an initial consent order of permanent injunction against Ichioka, prohibiting him from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations and banning him from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets and from registering with the CFTC. This initial consent order and the order entering monetary relief announced today resolve the CFTC’s enforcement action against Ichioka.
Additionally, the initial consent order found the defendant engaged in a fraudulent scheme beginning in 2018 in which he accepted investment funds from participants with false claims of a 10% return every 30 business days. Although Ichioka invested some funds in forex and digital asset commodities, he commingled participant money with his own funds and used participant funds for his own personal expenses, including, among other things, rent for his personal residence, jewelry, including watches, and luxury vehicles.
To conceal his fraudulent activity, Ichioka overstated the value of assets he held by generating false financial documents and presenting false account statements to participants.
