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CFTC Obtains Over $5.5M Restitution Order Against Tennessee Couple in 'Blessings Thru Crypto' Fraud
The CFTC has secured a court order requiring Michael and Amanda Griffis to pay over $6.8 million in restitution and penalties for operating the fraudulent 'Blessings Thru Crypto' commodity pool.
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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee entered a consent order against Clarksville, Tennessee residents Michael Griffis and Amanda Griffis for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar commodity pool scam.
The consent order requires the couple to pay $5,528,121 in restitution to victims and a civil monetary penalty of $1,355,232, totaling more than $6.8 million in financial penalties. In addition to the monetary judgment, the court permanently banned both individuals from trading and registering with the CFTC, alongside prohibiting future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
According to court findings, the Griffises operated as real estate professionals and leveraged their professional and personal connections to recruit victims into a fraudulent commodity pool called 'Blessings Thru Crypto.' In total, they persuaded at least 145 investors to contribute more than $6.5 million under false pretenses.
Investors were told their money would be used to trade commodity futures on the 'Apex Trading Platform' under the direction of an individual identified only as 'Coach Wendy.' However, investigators found that the platform was an illegitimate imitation of an overseas exchange, and the true identity of Coach Wendy was never established.
Rather than legitimate trading, over $4 million of the pool funds were transferred to the fraudulent overseas exchange and rapidly dispersed across various other accounts and offshore platforms. The remaining capital was misappropriated by the defendants to pay off personal debts and purchase consumer goods.
The CFTC emphasized that while court orders mandate restitution, actual recovery depends on whether defendants possess sufficient assets. The regulator urges investors to exercise caution, avoid opportunities offering unrealistic guarantees, and verify the registration status of any financial entity or broker through NFA BASIC before investing.