Cryptocurrency futures market CEO charged with violating Bank Secrecy Act

MIAMI – On Feb. 12, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Digitex Futures Exchange (Digitex Futures), was charged in federal court with willfully causing Digitex Futures to violate the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to establish and implement an anti-money-laundering program.

According to the allegations in the indictment, from January 2018 through April 2022, Adam Colin Todd, 50, a former resident of Miami, Florida, illegally operated Digitex Futures, an online futures exchange company, as an unregistered futures commission merchant in the United States. As alleged in the indictment, Todd sold and offered futures contracts to Digitex Futures’ customers. Allegedly, Todd willfully failed to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program, including an adequate know-your-customer program. The indictment further alleges that Todd publicly stated that he refused to implement know-your-customer policies for Digitex Futures. 

Todd made his initial appearance in federal court. If convicted, Todd faces up to five years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other mitigating, aggravating, and statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Jones is prosecuting it.

An information contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-20478. 

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