CFTC Sues Goliath Ventures and CEO Christopher Delgado in $397 Million Crypto Ponzi Case

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Tuesday that it has sued Goliath Ventures Inc. and its CEO, Christopher Delgado, alleging they ran a roughly $397 million crypto-asset Ponzi scheme that took money from about 1,600 customers.

In a civil complaint filed Aug. 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the CFTC, which polices U.S. derivatives and commodities markets, alleged that Goliath and Delgado solicited customer funds for supposed trading in bitcoin and ether, then misappropriated the money, paid fictitious profits to earlier customers and issued false guarantees of returns and false account statements. The agency described the alleged conduct as fraud in connection with digital commodities.

The CFTC said it is seeking restitution for customers, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction under the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

The civil case adds to an enforcement chain already underway against Delgado. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said Delgado, 34, of Apopka, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 30 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in a parallel federal criminal case. According to the Justice Department, a companion civil asset forfeiture action identified at least $400 million paid by investors to Goliath, and Delgado admitted in his plea agreement that he caused a minimum of $250 million in investor losses.

That guilty plea gives the CFTC action unusual weight as more than a fresh allegation. Federal prosecutors have already secured Delgado’s admission to criminal conduct tied to the same business, while commodities regulators are now pursuing separate civil penalties and investor remedies. The CFTC said it received assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and said the SEC filed a parallel civil action Tuesday.

According to the Justice Department, Delgado is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 8 and faces up to 20 years in prison on each fraud count and up to 10 years on the money laundering count.

The filing also matters for customers still trying to recover money. Goliath Ventures was placed into receivership in early March, and the receiver later put the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 16. The receiver and bankruptcy website lists Sept. 30, 2026, as the deadline for filing claims, creating another potential recovery path alongside the government’s civil and forfeiture actions.

The CFTC’s involvement reflects the agency’s continued effort to use its anti-fraud authority in crypto markets, particularly where the alleged activity centers on bitcoin and ether trading. In announcing the case, CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said, “We will continue to aggressively police fraud, abuse, and manipulation in the crypto asset markets to ensure that bad actors are punished, while developing clear rules of the road so that good actors have the opportunity to build on American soil.”