SEC Alleges Big-Talking Florida Crypto Investor Defrauded Clients of $6.8M

A Florida crypto trader has been charged with duping $6.8 million from investors in his purported digital asset day trading shop.

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in its Tuesday complaint that the defendant, Thomas J. Gity, defrauded investors from January 2018 through January 2019 as he claimed to never end a trading day in the red.
• Gity allegedly lured in 18 investors with lofty promises of outsize returns and assertions that he had $100 million under management.
• The SEC claims that Gity cooked his books to sell the lie.
• Only $970,000 of investors' funds ever landed in Gity's trading account, the SEC alleged. About $1.8 million allegedly went to Gity's son. Prosecutors said Gity used the rest to perpetuate his Ponzi-like scheme.
• Gity was charged with multiple violations of securities law in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday.

The case is a reminder that investors in cryptocurrency should watch out for promises too good to be true. Crypto, just like all asset classes, has its share of charlatans preying on the aura of a little-understood but much-hyped investment vehicle.