According to online reports, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that a U.S. federal court has ordered fines and damages of more than US$130 million against the Brazilian founder of illegal cryptocurrency investment platform EmpiresX. On February 4, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Cecilia Altonaga imposed a permanent injunction, financial penalties and other legal action against Empires X founder Emerson Pires, Flavio Goncalves and partner Joshua Nicholas. According to court documents, Empires Consulting operated a fraudulent investment plan, EmiresX, that falsely promised investors high returns. Pires and Goncalves are accused of obtaining at least $40 million from victims through fake cryptocurrency advertisements.