A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Debiex must return approximately $2.26 million to victims who lost money through its fraudulent operations.
The platform was found guilty of running a romance scam disguised as a cryptocurrency investment opportunity. An additional civil penalty of nearly $221,500 has also been imposed.
Court ruling and CFTC findings
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) confirmed that Debiex was falsely operating as a legitimate cryptocurrency platform. On March 13, Judge Douglas approved the CFTC’s request for summary judgment. The ruling noted that Debiex failed to respond to the claims, and there was no valid justification for its inaction.
The legal case against Debiex was initiated in January of last year. The CFTC accused the platform of engaging in a “pig butchering” scheme, a form of fraud where scammers build trust with victims before convincing them to invest in fake ventures. Authorities revealed that at least five individuals fell victim to this scam, collectively depositing $2.3 million.
Money mule and stolen funds
The CFTC identified Zhāng Chéng Yáng as a key participant in the scheme. His cryptocurrency wallet was used to transfer the stolen funds. On March 12, Judge Rayes granted a default judgment against Zhāng, accepting the CFTC’s evidence that he controlled an OKX crypto wallet containing illicitly obtained assets.
Court documents showed that OKX had voluntarily preserved the funds in Zhāng’s wallet. The wallet held $5.70 worth of USDT and 63 ETH, valued at $119,500. The judge ordered these assets to be transferred back to a victim’s account.
Scam operations and victim manipulation
Debiex allegedly recruited female staff members to pose as experienced cryptocurrency traders. The CFTC reported that these individuals targeted victims through social media, frequently messaging them and sharing personal images to gain their trust.
The operations of Debiex guided customers toward its decentralized blockchain trading system using fake prospects of profitable future trades and mining operations. Once users funded their accounts on the platform through deposits it provided fake information about account value together with trading results and profit data.
According to the CFTC, Debiex’s information proved to be false. Customer funds were routed between different digital wallets in succession to conceal their actual destination. The court’s ruling maintains Debiex’s responsibility for fraudulent actions while recovery operations attempt to locate stolen assets for all those who suffered losses.