The CFTC has sued iComTech Ponzi scammers for commodities fraud.

Name defendants in the CFTC’s May 24th filed Complaint are:

  • David Carmona (aka David Segundo, Wuilver Segundo)
  • Juan Arellano
  • Moses Valdez
  • David Brend
  • Marco A. Ruiz Ochoa

All of the CFTC case defendants have been indicted in parallel criminal proceedings brought by the DOJ.

Carmona, iComTech’s founder and CEO, was arrested on or around October 21st, 2022.

Ringleaders Arellano, Valdez, Brend and Ochoa were later arrested on November 8th.

iComTech was an MLM cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme launched in 2018.

iComTech investment was solicited on the promise of a 0.9% to 2.8% daily return, purportedly generated via crypto trading and mining.

Allegations in the CFTC’s iComTech Complaint mirror those from the earlier DOJ’s criminal charges.

This case involves a fraudulent solicitation scheme targeting Spanish-speaking communities in the United States and other countries.

Defendants did not trade Bitcoin or other digital asset commodities on the customers’ behalves as they represented, and did not earn daily returns nor double the customers’ investments based on trading.

Instead, Defendants misappropriated customer funds to further promote the scheme, and, on information and belief, to pay for personal expenditures and to pay themselves commissions and bonuses.

In fact, some Icomtech customers lost all of their funds.

As a result of Defendants’ fraudulent scheme, more than 170 individuals located in the United States and other countries transferred at least hundreds of thousands of dollars to Defendants and other Icomtech agents.

During and after the Relevant Period, numerous customers unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw money from their Icomtech accounts.

The CFTC alleges iComTech’s Ponzi scheme violated the Commodity Exchange Act, under “fraud by deceptive device or contrivance”.

The CFTC is seeking a permanent injunction against the iComTech defendants, as well as disgorgement, victim restitution and a civil monetary penalty.

BehindMLM has added the CFTC’s iComTech case to its calendar, so stay tuned for updates as we continue to track developments.

In the related DOJ criminal proceedings, a trial has been scheduled for February 12th, 2024.

 

Update 6th August 2023 – The CFTC secured Entry of Defaults against David Brend, Moses Valdez, Marco Ruiz Ochoa and Juan Arellano Parra on July 20th.

 

Update 20th September 2023 – The CFTC’s civil iComTech proceedings have been stayed pending the outcome of parallel criminal proceedings.

 

Update 6th November 2024 – The CFTC has secured default judgment against David Carmona, Juan Parra, Moses Valdez and David Brend.

A judgment against Marcos Ruiz Ochoa remains pending.