CFTC Sues Goliath Ventures Over Alleged $397M DeFi Ponzi Scheme
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against Goliath Ventures Inc. and its CEO, Christopher Delgado, alleging they ran a $397 million Ponzi scheme in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market.
Goliath promised customers high returns on their Bitcoin and Ether investments by placing them in DeFi liquidity pools, but the CFTC claims no funds were actually deployed to these pools. Instead, at least $87 million was used for Ponzi payments, $174 million went to recruiter commissions, and $48 million was spent on CEO Delgado's personal expenses.
The scheme allegedly operated from November 2022 to February 2026, with Goliath issuing false account statements to customers showing fake profits. Delgado, who was not registered with the CFTC, is named as a controlling person liable for Goliath's conduct.