TheCommodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a civil complaint againstTravis Ford and his company, Wolf Capital Crypto Trading, accusing them ofoperating a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment pool that misled investors andmisappropriated funds.Thecomplaint alleges Ford and Wolf Capital collected at least $10.1 million frommore than 3,376 participants between October 2022 and December 2024 through anunregistered commodity pool. Investors deposited stablecoins into a smartcontract on the Ethereum blockchain after being promised daily returns rangingfrom 1% to 3.5%, which would translate to annual returns between 365% and1,277.5%.Trading Losses Masked byFabricated ReportsFord toldinvestors he would generate returns by trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, andcryptocurrency futures using both manual trading and automated bots. Hepositioned himself as an experienced trader who made "a smallfortune" trading oil during the COVID-19 pandemic, though regulators sayhe had little actual experience trading digital assets and lost money on oilcompany stocks.Accordingto the complaint, Ford posted only profitable trades to Wolf Capital's Telegramand Discord channels while hiding losing trades from investors. BetweenFebruary and July 2023, Ford shared 72 trade results from one exchange showingprofits of $3.5 million, but exchange records revealed he actually executed 422trades during that period with total losses of $869,254, an overstatement ofmore than $4.3 million.Ford lateradmitted to using Photoshop to create fake trade screenshots and portfoliovalues that showed profits where none existed. The falsified reports gaveinvestors the impression that their funds were growing, even as Wolf Capital'sactual assets had dwindled to around $3,000 by August 2023.Ponzi Scheme FundedWithdrawalsWhentrading losses made it impossible to pay promised returns, Ford began using newinvestor deposits to pay existing investors. The CFTC haspursued several major Ponzi schemes in recent years, including cases involving $145 million inforex trading fraud.Fordadmitted in July 2023 that Wolf Capital paid out $2.4 million in returns thatdidn't come from trading profits but from other participants' deposits. Afterthe scheme collapsed, Ford attempted to reduce daily returns twice—first from2% to 1.5% in April 2023, then to 1.1% in June 2023, before halting alloperations in July 2023.Despitepromising investors they could withdraw funds after a 60-day lockup period,most participants never received their initial deposits back. Ford continuedencouraging investors to leave their money in the smart contract with promisesof recovering losses through future trading and business ventures that nevermaterialized.Registration Violationsand Criminal ConvictionNeitherFord nor Wolf Capital ever registered with the CFTC as a commodity pooloperator or associated person, as required by law. The commission's enforcementaction follows a pattern of pursuing unregisteredcommodity pool operators, with one Texas case resulting in $13 million in sanctions.Fordpleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Jan. 9, 2025, in relatedcriminal proceedings. He was sentenced on Nov. 13, 2024, to five years inprison and ordered to pay monetary relief. In his guilty plea, Ford admitted he"did not believe those investment returns were possible to achieveconsistently" and made false statements intending to induce people toinvest or remain invested in Wolf Capital.The CFTC'scivil complaint seeks restitution, disgorgement of profits, civil monetarypenalties, and permanent bans preventing Ford and Wolf Capital from trading orregistering with the agency. The caseshares similarities with other cryptocurrency-related fraud prosecutions,including a $31 millionpenalty imposed in a forex and crypto fraud case and charges brought against a crypto-forexscheme involving artificial intelligence claims.WolfCapital operated as a sole proprietorship until April 2023, when Ford organizedit as an Oklahoma limited liability company. The entity is currently listed as"Inactive" on the Oklahoma Secretary of State website.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.