A federal court has ordered a former New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) broker to pay $54 million in damages and penalties for operating a fraudulent crypto trading scheme. According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Ohio resident Michael Ackerman has been banned from trading in any markets supervised by the watchdog. The judge at the Southern District of New York court charged Ackerman in 2020 for defrauding 150 investors and raising $33 million by promising extraordinary profits.
Ackerman initially pleaded not guilty to running the scheme, but changed his plea in September 2021. The final order, signed on June 13, closes the CFTC enforcement case against Ackerman and requires him to pay $27 million in restitution to defrauded victims and a $27 million civil monetary penalty. The CFTC said in its announcement, It also requires him to pay $27 million in restitution to defrauded victims and a $27 million civil monetary penalty in connection with a fraudulent digital asset trading scheme.