Eddy Alexandre, the CEO of an alleged forex and cryptocurrency trading platform known as EminiFX, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for a $240 million fraud scheme. The sentence was announced by Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, on July 19, 2023.

Alexandre was found guilty of defrauding more than 25,000 investors of more than $248 million through the EminiFX trading platform. The fraudulent scheme was operational from September 2021 to May 2022. Alexandre had promised investors high returns of at least 5% weekly through a “Robo-Advisor assisted account” for automated cryptocurrency investments and forex trading. . He claimed that this technology was his “trade secret” and refused to reveal any details about it.

However, the reality was far from the promises made. EminiFX did not generate 5% weekly returns for its investors. Alexandre failed to invest a significant portion of the investor funds entrusted to him and incurred millions of dollars in losses on the limited funds he invested. In addition, he diverted at least approximately $14.7 million into his personal bank account, using $155,000 of investor funds to purchase a BMW car for himself and spending an additional $13,000 on car payments, including to Mercedes Benz.

The case against Alexandre is a stark reminder of the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency. It also underscores the importance of due diligence and skepticism towards promises of guaranteed high returns.

In addition to his prison term, Alexandre was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $248,829,276.73 and restitution in the amount of $213,639,133.53.

The Bureau’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force handled the case, and Assistant US Attorneys Nicholas Folly and Jared Lenow prosecuted. The investigation included the involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a separate civil lawsuit.

This sentence follows Alexandre’s guilty plea in early February 2023, where he admitted to the fraudulent scheme. The case serves as a cautionary tale to cryptocurrency executives and investors alike, and underscores the Southern District of New York’s commitment to prosecuting misconduct in crypto markets.

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