WASHINGTON, D.C. – Marco A. Ruiz Ochoa of Nashua, New Hampshire, along with three other individuals, have been penalized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for their involvement in a digital asset fraud scheme. The CFTC announced today that a consent order was issued against Ochoa and default judgments were issued against David Carmona, formerly of Elmhurst, New York; Juan Arellano Parra, formerly of Chino, California; Moses Valdez of Hesperia, California; and David Brend of Tampa, Florida, on October 21, 2024, by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The orders stem from a complaint filed by the CFTC on May 24, 2023, alleging fraud and misappropriation of funds connected to their business, Icomtech. The CFTC found that the defendants fraudulently solicited over $1 million from approximately 190 individuals in the U.S. and internationally, falsely promising profitable trades in Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Carmona, Arellano, Valdez, and Brend were found jointly and severally liable for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Each defendant is ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution to defrauded customers and a $1 million civil monetary penalty. They are also permanently barred from engaging in any activities violating the CEA, and from registering or trading on CFTC-regulated markets.
Ochoa, through a consent order, admitted his participation in the fraudulent scheme and is also jointly and severally liable for over $1 million in restitution. He is subject to the same permanent injunction and bans as the other defendants.
The court found that, from approximately August 2018 through December 2019, the defendants falsely represented to investors that their funds would be used to trade Bitcoin and other digital asset commodities, promising daily returns of 0.9% to 2.8% and a doubling of investments within eight months. However, the defendants did not engage in legitimate trading and instead misappropriated customer funds, leading to total losses for some investors.
A parallel criminal action, initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on October 13, 2022, further implicated the defendants in a larger wire fraud scheme. Carmona and Ochoa have both pled guilty to wire fraud charges. Arellano pled guilty to a superseding indictment for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Brend was found guilty of wire fraud after a jury trial, while the indictment against Valdez remains unresolved.
Source: CFTC.gov
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