The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued a default judgment against Debiex, a purported digital asset platform, for engaging in fraudulent digital asset commodity trading.
The order—issued on March 13—finds Debiex liable for misappropriating over $2 million in customers’ funds and bars the platform from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets or registering with the CFTC. In addition, Debiex must pay a civil monetary penalty of $221,466 and more than $2.2 million in restitution.
A key element of the scheme involved relief defendant Zhāng Chéng Yáng, who acted as a money mule by allowing his digital asset wallet to be used in the fraud. The wallet was implicated in misappropriating at least one customer’s funds, and by a separate court order on March 12, the remaining digital assets in Zhang’s wallet—valued at approximately $120,000 before transfer fees—were ordered to be returned to the affected Debiex customer. Zhang is believed to be a Chinese national.
“This judgment demonstrates the CFTC’s ongoing commitment to protecting U.S. citizens from online scams,” said Director of Enforcement Brian Young. He commended the work of DOE staff—Jenny Chapin, Dmitriy Vilenskiy, and former Division Deputy Director Joan Manley—as well as additional staff who assisted from the International Enforcement Cooperation Unit and the FBI’s Phoenix Office.
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The case originated from a complaint filed on January 17, 2024, which alleged that Debiex operated publicly accessible internet domains to target victims with a sophisticated fraudulent scheme. According to the complaint, the scheme involved three coordinated groups:
- Solicitors who contacted potential customers via U.S.-based social media platforms, pretending to befriend or romance them in order to solicit investments.
- Customer Service personnel who purported to set up and manage trading accounts for these customers.
- Money Mules (including Zhāng Chéng Yáng) whose digital asset wallets were used to accept and misappropriate customer funds.
In reality, Debiex’s websites merely mimicked the features of a legitimate trading platform, and no actual digital asset trading took place on behalf of the customers. Instead, funds were misappropriated by Debiex, leaving victims defrauded.
The CFTC cautions that even when orders require repayment of funds to victims, full recovery is not guaranteed if the wrongdoers lack sufficient assets. The agency remains committed to vigorously protecting customers and holding fraudsters accountable.
