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CFTC Charges California Man for Running Romance Scam That Swindled Crypto Investors Out of $1.3 Million

June 23 (Cointime) - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken legal action against a California man and his company for allegedly running a romance scam that defrauded at least 29 investors out of over $1.3 million in digital asset commodity and forex trading between April 2021 and March 2022.

Cunwen Zhu, the accused, and his partners reportedly cultivated romantic relationships with victims before soliciting them to participate in a fraudulent financial opportunity, known as "Pig Butchering."

Instead of investing the funds in cryptocurrency and forex exchanges, Zhu collected the money for personal use, transferring the majority to bank accounts, digital wallets, and digital asset trading platforms controlled by his associates. The CFTC has warned users in recent months to be wary of romance-related scams involving digital assets.

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