CFTC v. Abner Alejandro Tinoco (ponzi schemes, 2024)

Judgment entered

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 2, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission obtained a judgment against Abner Alejandro Tinoco, alleging conduct this library classifies as ponzi schemes. The release records a civil penalty of $18.8 million, disgorgement of $6.3 million. A parallel criminal matter produced a custodial sentence of 84 months.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$18.8m

Disgorgement

$6.3m

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$25m

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced this matter on July 26, 2024 as release 8934-24. The respondents named are Abner Alejandro Tinoco (1 individual, 0 entities). The action was brought in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas.

This library tags the matter as ponzi schemes, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The conduct is recorded against crypto.

The relief recorded in our data is a civil monetary penalty of $18.8 million, disgorgement of $6.3 million. Penalty and disgorgement are distinct: disgorgement returns the gain, while the penalty is punitive. We store them separately so that aggregate figures across the library are not double-counted.

A parallel criminal proceeding is referenced, with a custodial sentence of 84 months recorded. Criminal and civil outcomes are tracked separately throughout this site.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Ponzi schemes — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2024-07-26 CFTC release published

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• CFTC release
• CFTC order or complaint

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.