CFTC charges Tennessee couple over ‘Blessings of God Thru Crypto’ scheme
A Tennessee husband and wife are facing charges over “Blessings of God Thru Crypto” — an allegedly fraudulent investment scheme that swindled at least $6 million from over 100 victims in just six months.
A July 24 complaint from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Michael and Amanda Griffis used the connections they made in their real estate business to convince people to fork their savings over to a multi-million dollar investment pool between July 2022 and January 2023.
These included mortgage brokers and former customers of their real estate business, it said.
The CFTC charged husband and wife realtors of Tennessee for operating a $6M digital assets commodity pool scheme. Learn more: https://t.co/pPq9hV8qeU
— CFTC (@CFTC) July 25, 2023
“Despite having no trading or other relevant experience, the defendants successfully convinced over 100 people to send them over $6 million to participate in a commodity pool called ‘Blessings of God Thru Crypto,’” the CFTC said.
As part of the scheme pool participants were told their funds would be used to trade crypto futures contracts, however, not a single trade was ever conducted, said the CFTC.
“The defendants falsely represented that pool funds would be safe and under their control, that pool participants could expect high gains, and that the defendants would use pool funds to trade ‘crypto futures.’”
Instead, around $4 million of the pooled funds were transferred to digital wallets outside of the Griffis’ control and more than $1 million were misappropriated to pay off personal debt and expensive items over a number of months, the CFTC alleged.
This included $10,000 in college tuition for family members, $20,000 for an all-terrain vehicle and $335,000 to pay off credit card debt.
Related: CFTC issues $54M default judgment against trader in crypto fraud scheme
The couple has been charged with defrauding over 100 victims and failing to register with the CFTC.
In its complaint, it requested a permanent injunction against the Griifis and any potential collaborators, preventing them from participating in any future transactions involving commodity interests, along with full restitution to anyone that sustained losses from the scheme, and requested the court impose civil penalties against the Griffis.
The CFTC warned full restitution will likely be difficult given that the alleged wrongdoers will likely have insufficient funds or assets.
According to their respective LinkedIn profiles, Michael and Amanda Griffis are affiliated with Exit Realty Screamin’ Eagle, based in Clarksville, Tennessee. Amanda is listed as a “Broker/Co-Owner,” while Michael is listed as a “Realtor.”
Cointelegraph contacted the Griffis for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Politics
£104bn of water industry investment will come from bill payers, environment secretary concedes
Steve Reed has conceded that the bulk of the £104bn of water industry investment which he boasts Labour has attracted since coming to office will come from bill payers.
In an interview with Sky News, the environment secretary sought to blame the previous Tory government for a string of high profile investors walking away from the sector over the last year.
Mr Reed does not accept claims that further threats to jail water bosses and promises to curb price rises have deterred investment.
Instead, he told Sky News that “by bringing in the £104bn of private sector investment that we secured at the end of last year, we can make sure that the investment is going in to support” the industry.
When challenged that the £104bn was total expenditure not total investment, and that bill payers would pay back this expenditure over the coming decades, Mr Reed conceded this was right – and the money ultimately is coming from bill payers.
“The money comes in from investors up front so we can do that spending straight away,” he said.
“Over decades, the investors got a modest return from the bills that customers are paying. That’s how investment works.”
Some investors have warned they do not think it viable to fund the UK water sector because of the hostile political tone of ministers and lack of certainty.
Ministers have said the government does not want to renationalise water as it would mean years of legal wrangling and cost a lot of money.
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Minister rules out nationalising the water
Labour has launched a record 81 criminal investigations into water companies over sewage dumping since winning the election last year.
Water company bosses could be jailed for up to five years and the companies fined hundreds of millions of pounds if they are found guilty.
Mr Reed committed to not interfering with those prosecutions, saying it would be “highly inappropriate” for any minister to do so.
Read more:
Key recommendations from the water report
Labour to eliminate unauthorised sewage spillages in 10 years
He rejected suggestions ministers will be pressured to ensure water bosses do not serve jail time as this will deter investors.
“It’s a judicial process, it would be highly inappropriate for any ministerial interference in the process,” Mr Reed said.
“They will work their way through the court system, as they should do, and ministers will decide on sanctions after.”
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