Goliath Ventures Founder Hit with $400M Crypto Fraud Lawsuits

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have filed separate civil lawsuits against Goliath Ventures and its founder, Christopher Delgado.

Delgado allegedly ran a crypto-linked Ponzi scheme that raised around $400 million from over 1,300 investors. The SEC claims an unregistered securities offering, while the CFTC alleges solicitation for Bitcoin and Ether trading, with approximately 1,600 customers depositing at least $397 million.

The civil actions expand on Delgado's guilty plea in a related criminal case, potentially enabling additional compensation efforts and market bans. The SEC seeks disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties, while the CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil penalties, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction.

The proposed settlement terms for Delgado's SEC case would permanently bar him from violating securities-law provisions, prohibit him from participating in securities transactions outside personal-account activity, and prevent him from associating with a broker or dealer. The court will determine the remaining components of the agreement, including disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.