David Butler, Wire Fraud Conspiracy, New York 2022

David Butler, a United States citizen, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a form of investment known as ‘binary options.’

The scheme, which involved several binary options companies, including SpotFN, Binary FN and Janus Options (Binary Options Companies), promised investors a predetermined profit based upon particular outcomes in the markets for securities, currencies and other investments. However, Butler and his co-conspirators used computer software to manipulate data associated with the investors’ binary options, resulting in the theft of more than $2.9 million from investors.

Butler was arrested in April 2022 in Costa Rica and extradited to the United States on July 14, 2022. The guilty plea was held before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert.

When sentenced, Butler faces up to 20 years in prison. The scheme, which operated from approximately January 2011 and October 2016, targeted investors throughout the United States.

“Butler’s guilty plea demonstrates that even when crimes are committed from thousands of miles beyond our country’s borders using the latest computer software, neither the foreign nature nor the sophistication of the scheme will shield fraudsters from being brought to justice in a U.S. courtroom,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.

“This Office is committed to protecting the investing public from financial scams wherever they occur,” Peace added, thanking the Costa Rican government for its assistance with the arrest and extradition of the defendant.