The consent order settled the cases against Watson in the CFTC activity recorded against Watson and late John David McAfee that they supposedly participated in a manipulative and tricky crypto “pump-and-dump” conspiracy on March 5, 2021.
The court order expects Watson to vomit more than $146,000 he got in ill gotten gains from the plan. Furthermore, to pay a total sum of over $290k as a civil monetary fine.
Watson, a former Navy Seal, served as McAfee’s bodyguard from 2017 until he was named the executive adviser to the cryptocurrency team of the former cybersecurity magnate. The SEC charged both McAfee and Watson with ICO promotion and scalping schemes early last week.
The order likewise for all time denies Watson from taking part in additional infringement of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC guidelines as charged, and it forces enrollment and trading bans.
Gretchen Lowe, the CFTC Acting Director of Enforcement Case Background stated, “The CFTC will continue actively to use its enforcement authority in the digital asset space to combat fraud and manipulation.”
Also read: CFTC Drags Down 34 Unregistered Foreign Entities to the RED List
