A federal judge has ordered an Oregon man and his companies to pay over $83 million in restitution to victims of a fraudulent digital asset investment scheme that operated as "a classic Ponzi scheme," according to court documents.

Court Orders $83 Million in Restitution for Digital Asset Fraud Scheme

Judge Mary Rowland of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) against Sam Ikkurty and several of his companies, including Jafia LLC and Ikkurty Capital LLC. The court found the defendants violated the law through fraud and failure to register as commodity pool operators.

According to the court's findings, Ikkurty recruited investors by promising 15% annual returns from investments in digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, the judge determined Ikkurty made numerous false statements about his investment experience and fund performance while operating "something akin to a ."

"Ikkurty's marketing materials misstated his fund's historical performance and omitted the fact that the fund fell in value by 98.99% over a period of a few months," the CFTC commented in the official statement.

The order requires the defendants to pay $83.7 million in restitution and $36.9 million in disgorgement. The CFTC plans to seek additional injunctive relief and civil monetary penalties.