Florida CEO Pleads Guilty to Bank Secrecy Act Violations

MIAMI – In a shocking turn of events, Adam Colin Todd, 50, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Digitex Futures Exchange (Digitex Futures), a cryptocurrency futures market company, pleaded guilty in federal court to willfully causing Digitex Futures to violate the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to establish and implement an anti-money-laundering program.

Between 2018 and April 2022, Todd illicitly operated Digitex Futures as an unregistered futures commission merchant within the United States. As CEO of Digitex Futures, Todd brazenly sold and offered futures contracts to clients of Digitex Futures in the United States, all while knowingly violating federal regulations.

Todd’s actions were a brazen disregard for the law, and he willfully failed to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program, including a know-your-customer program. In a stunning admission, Todd publicly stated that he refused to implement know-your-customer policies for Digitex Futures.

The case against Todd was investigated by the FBI Miami office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Todd faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other mitigating, aggravating, and statutory factors.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-20478.

The guilty plea is a stark reminder that the Department of Justice will aggressively pursue individuals who engage in financial crimes, including those who willfully violate the Bank Secrecy Act.

As the Grimy Times continues to dig deeper into this case, we will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Stay tuned for further developments in this ongoing investigation.