Eddy Alexandre, the CEO of a purported cryptocurrency and forex trading platform known as EminiFX, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for a $240 million fraud scheme. The sentencing was announced by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, on July 19, 2023.
Alexandre was found guilty of defrauding over 25,000 investors of more than $248 million through the EminiFX trading platform. The fraudulent scheme was operational from September 2021 to May 2022. Alexandre had promised investors high returns of at least 5% weekly through a “Robo-Advisor Assisted account” for automated investments in cryptocurrency and forex trading. He claimed this technology was his “trade secret” and refused to disclose any details about it.
However, the reality was far from the promises made. EminiFX did not generate 5% weekly returns for its investors. Alexandre did not invest a significant portion of the investor funds entrusted to him and incurred millions of dollars in losses on the limited funds he did invest. Furthermore, he misdirected at least approximately $14.7 million to his personal bank account, using $155,000 of investor funds to purchase a BMW car for himself and spending an additional $13,000 on car payments, including to Mercedes Benz.
The case against Alexandre is a stark reminder of the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments. It also underscores the importance of due diligence and skepticism towards promises of guaranteed high returns.
In addition to his prison term, Alexandre was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $248,829,276.73 and restitution in the amount of $213,639,133.53.
The Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force of the Office handled the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Folly and Jared Lenow were in charge of the prosecution. The inquiry included participation from the Federal Bureau of inquiry and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a separate civil lawsuit.
This sentencing follows Alexandre’s guilty plea earlier in February 2023, where he admitted to the fraudulent scheme. The case serves as a warning to cryptocurrency executives and investors alike, emphasizing the Southern District of New York’s commitment to prosecuting misconduct in the crypto markets.
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