Brooklyn, NY – Rashawn Russell, a New York resident, has been permanently banned from trading and soliciting funds after being found liable for a fraudulent digital asset scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on February 10, 2025. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered an order against Russell, requiring him to pay over $1.5 million in restitution to victims.
The CFTC originally filed a complaint against Russell on April 11, 2023, alleging he fraudulently solicited investments from over two dozen retail customers between November 2020 and August 2022. Russell convinced investors to contribute bitcoin, ether, and fiat currency to a purported proprietary digital asset trading fund. However, the court found Russell intentionally misled investors regarding the fund’s structure, size, and performance.
Investigators determined Russell did not trade the funds as represented, and falsely promised to fulfill withdrawal requests. Instead, he misappropriated over $1.5 million in customer assets, using the money for personal expenses, gambling, and to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. The court permanently enjoined Russell from violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, and banned him from registering with the CFTC.
This ruling comes in conjunction with a parallel criminal action. On September 19, 2023, Russell pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of access device fraud. He was subsequently sentenced to over three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and also ordered to pay over $1.5 million in restitution. The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the Department of Justice, Fraud Section, in this case.
The case was led by CFTC staff members Rebecca Jelinek, Steve Turley, Tom Simek, Chris Reed, and Charles Marvine.
Source: CFTC.gov
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