The head of bitcoin escrow company Volantis pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of commodities fraud for bilking an investor of over $3 million.
Jon Barry Thompson, 49, admitted in Manhattan federal district court that his crypto companies – Volantis Market Making LCC and Volantis Escrow Platform LLC – never followed through with a promised $3.25 million bitcoin buy for one unnamed customer in the summer of 2018.
Thompson also settled charges brought by the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission on Thursday. A newly filed consent order requires him to pay $7.4 million in restitution, permanently bars him from bitcoin trading, and compels him to cooperate with the CFTC in any future investigations.
