In a recent filing, Voyager Digital, a once-thriving crypto firm, has agreed to a $1.65 billion settlement with US regulators, marking one of the largest fines ever imposed in the sector. Additionally, a legal cloud is gathering around the firm’s former CEO, Stephen Ehrlich, as regulators file a lawsuit against him, alleging a series of fraudulent activities.
CFTC Alleges Ehrlich Misled Customers on Voyager’s Financial Health
Legal actions have been initiated against the former CEO of Voyager, a cryptocurrency lending firm that went bankrupt last year, by two US regulatory bodies.
Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have lodged complaints in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to court documents. The FTC has identified both Voyager and its former CEO, Stephen Ehrlich, as defendants, while the CFTC has singled out Ehrlich alone in its action.
The CFTC seeks various forms of relief against Ehrlich, including “restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations” of the Commodity Exchange Act. The regulatory body alleges that Ehrlich misled customers regarding the safety and fiscal stability of the Voyager digital asset platform.
Concurrently, the FTC alleges that deceptive claims were made by both Voyager and Ehrlich about having Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance, which provides coverage for deposits in US banks up to $250,000. Voyager purportedly advertised on its website and app that funds would be FDIC-insured, with the FTC complaint including screenshots of the webpage that advertised FDIC insurance up to the aforementioned amount.
The FTC asserts that both Ehrlich and Voyager were fully cognizant of the fact that neither the firm nor its customer deposits were FDIC-insured.
FTC Settles With Voyager For $1.65 Billion Fine
In a separate legal development, the FTC has arranged a settlement with Voyager’s corporate entity, which is required to pay a fine of $1.65 billion as part of the agreement. According to court documents, the company neither confirmed nor refuted the allegations. Additionally, Francine Ehrlich, wife of Stephen Ehrlich, is identified as a relief defendant in the FTC complaint.
The FTC alleges, “Relief Defendant Francine Ehrlich has received funds that can be directly traced to Defendants’ deceptive acts or practices alleged below, and she has no legitimate claim to those funds.”
In 2022, Voyager was among several companies that declared bankruptcy following the downfall of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. The company sought bankruptcy protection on July 6 of that year, subsequent to the suspension of deposits and withdrawals. Earlier this year, Voyager concluded a plan to liquidate its assets as a component of a customer repayment strategy.
