Voyager Digital's former CEO banned by FTC from handling consumer assets

In a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Voyager Digital ( OTCPK:VYGVQ ), its former CEO, Stephen Ehrlich, was permanently banned from handling consumers' assets for falsely claiming that customers' accounts were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and were "safe." Voyager Digital ( OTCPK:VYGVQ ) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022. In September 2022, FTX won an auction for Voyager, but then FTX itself collapsed in November. The FTC's complaint against the company and Stephen Ehrlich alleged that Voyager ( OTCPK:VYGVQ ) promised that consumers' deposits would be "safe" in order to get them to deposit funds. When the company failed, consumers lost access to assets they had saved, including ongoing salary deposits, college tuition funds, and down payments for homes, according to the complaint. Consumers were locked out of their cash accounts for more than a month and lost more than $1B in crypto assets, the complaint alleged. In one marketing campaign, the company said that USD held with Voyager ( OTCPK:VYGVQ ) was FDIC-insured. Voyager, however, is not a bank or financial institution, and its clients' deposits are not eligible to be insured by the FDIC. Stephen Ehrlich did not agree to the settlement, and the FTC's case against him will proceed in federal court, the FTC said. Ehrlich's wife, Francine Ehrlich, was named as a relief defendant. Voyager ( OTCPK:VYGVQ ) and its affiliates agreed to a $1.65B judgment, which will be suspended to permit the company to return its remaining assets to consumers in bankruptcy proceedings. In a parallel action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission separately charged Ehrlich with fraud and registration failures. The CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of CFTC regulations. More on Voyager Digital CFTC considers penalizing crypto lender Voyager Digital's co-founder - report Financial information for Voyager Digital Binance.US pulls out of $1B Voyager deal How 3AC Took Voyager Digital Down With It