William Koo Ichioka, 30, has been ordered by Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to pay $36 million in penalties for defrauding investors in a cryptocurrency and forex scheme. The judgment includes $31 million in restitution to his victims and a $5 million civil penalty, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday.

Ichioka was charged by the CFTC in June 2023 with misappropriating investor funds by promising high returns through investments in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether, as well as forex trading. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed complaints in parallel actions.

The court found that Ichioka had falsely promised investors a 10% return every 30 business days, while using a portion of their funds to pay for personal luxuries including rent, restaurants, bars, taxi rides, gym memberships, and luxury vehicles. He also invested some of the money in startups, digital asset commodities, and forex, but commingled the funds with his own.

In July 2023, Ichioka pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including wire fraud and securities fraud, and was sentenced to four years in prison in January. He was also ordered to pay a separate $5 million fine.

The CFTC has flagged forex fraud as a growing concern and urged the public to verify the registration of individuals or companies with the agency before committing funds. “If unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that company or individual,” the CFTC warned.