A federal court has ordered EminiFX and its founder, Eddy Alexandre, to pay $228,576,962 in restitution to defrauded investors, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on October 19. A court-appointed receiver has already returned more than $98 million to more than 28,000 investors, as of July 2026. In its summary judgment order, the court wrote: “Simply put, EminiFX was a Ponzi scheme,” the CFTC release says.
What victims will get, and when, is not settled. The CFTC has not announced a payout date, does not name the receiver and lists no contact information for investors. It says the receiver has recovered millions of dollars in investor funds and other assets and is distributing them. It also warns that orders like this one may not always lead to recovery, because wrongdoers may not have enough money or assets.
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What the court ordered
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the CFTC’s motions for summary judgment, injunctive relief and a civil monetary penalty. That makes this a judgment after litigation, not a settlement. The restitution figure is $228,576,962.
The court also ordered disgorgement of $15,049,500 in unlawful gains, which is offset by any restitution paid, and a civil monetary penalty of $45,148,500. The case grew out of the CFTC’s May 2022 complaint against Alexandre, of Valley Stream, New York, and his company, which operated in Valley Stream and Manhattan.
How EminiFX pulled in investors
The CFTC says EminiFX presented itself as an investment club trading cryptocurrency and foreign currency, and promised weekly returns of 5% to 9.99%. The court described the returns as “astonishing.” The scheme ran for eight months and drew tens of thousands of investors, who put in more than $262 million. The CFTC puts net losses at over $49 million, and says at least $15 million of the losses came from Alexandre taking investor money for personal use.
The CFTC release says the court’s order went on to find that investors’ decisions rested on fraudulent misrepresentations. The criminal case adds detail on the pitch. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Alexandre promised “guaranteed” returns of at least 5% a week, told investors they would double their money within five months, and credited a secret “trade secret” technology. It said he diverted at least about $14.7 million to his personal bank account, including $155,000 of investor money for a BMW.
The CFTC’s first announcement of the case, in May 2022, laid out the early allegations. It said the firm had taken at least $59 million from hundreds of people and that only about $9 million of customer funds went to trading. Alexandre lost nearly 70% of that amount, about $6.2 million, the CFTC said. Customer money also paid for BMW and Mercedes-Benz purchases, Saks Fifth Avenue spending, flights and luxury hotels, and for galas used to bring in more contributions.
A restraining order signed May 11, 2022 by Judge Valerie E. Caproni froze assets the defendants controlled and appointed a temporary receiver. The 2022 release does not name the receiver either.
The criminal case came first
Alexandre is serving a nine-year prison sentence in a parallel case brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. That office announced the sentence on July 18, 2023. U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan imposed nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for commodities fraud.
In the criminal case, the court ordered forfeiture of $248,829,276.73 and restitution of $213,639,133.53. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Alexandre defrauded “tens of thousands of ordinary investors” of almost a quarter-billion dollars. Prosecutors said he recruited many investors by using his position of trust in his church and the Haitian community. The CFTC’s $228.6 million order is a separate civil judgment.
Where payouts stand now
The only payout figure on the record is the receiver’s: more than $98 million to more than 28,000 investors as of July 2026. The CFTC has not said how much of the restitution order remains unpaid, or when the next distribution will be made.
The release says “tens of thousands” of investors were in the scheme and does not give an exact count, so it is not clear how many are still waiting after the more than 28,000 who have been paid. The receiver’s role dates to May 2022, when a restraining order froze the defendants’ assets and appointed a temporary receiver. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan announced its own parallel case against Alexandre on May 12, 2022.
The CFTC’s 2022 release told investors to check a firm’s registration with the National Futures Association’s BASIC database before sending money. It also pointed to the commission’s Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory and Forex Fraud Advisory, and gave its tip line, 866-366-2382. Any investor in EminiFX who has not yet been contacted by the receiver has no contact route in the October release, which is why the CFTC’s own press room is the place to watch for updates.
Did every EminiFX payment you received get written down?
The CFTC says orders like this one may not always lead to recovery and has published no payout date. People waiting on a receiver’s distributions are tracking money with no deadline attached, and a payment that is not recorded is easy to lose track of.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a claim log and payment tracker, plus the Money Owed Tracker, a 5-tab Excel workbook pre-filled with all 51 state unclaimed-property offices. Part 6 walks through filing a claim and getting paid.
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This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
