Benjamin Reynolds
Sole owner of Control-Finance Ltd, a UK-based Bitcoin 'trading' operation the CFTC called a fraud. He solicited ~22,858 BTC (~$147M) in 2017 promising guaranteed profits, made no trades, and misappropriated the funds. A 2021 default judgment ordered $143M restitution + $429M in penalties.
Also known as: Benjamin Reynolds
Note: The CFTC obtained a civil default judgment; Reynolds never appeared and his whereabouts have been reported as unknown.
Bio
Benjamin Reynolds, purportedly of Manchester, England, was the sole director and owner of Control-Finance Limited. From May to October 2017 he solicited Bitcoin from the public, falsely promising guaranteed daily profits from a team of "expert" traders and an affiliate-referral program, and provided sham "trade reports" — while making no trades and routing deposits through single-use wallets into pooled addresses he controlled (Ponzi-style). [1][2]
Status
The CFTC charged Reynolds and Control-Finance in 2019. On March 2, 2021 the court entered a default judgment finding he misappropriated ~22,190 BTC (~$143M) from 1,000+ customers, ordering ~$143M in restitution and a $429M civil penalty. He did not appear and his location is unknown. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Sources (2)
See also
Luke BelmarIndividualsCryptocurrency influencer Luke Belmar (@lukebelmar on X) became the subject of controversy following allegations related to the promotion of a memecoin. Critics on social media alleged that Belmar used a series of posts referencing a forthcoming cryptocurrency project and a large-scale airdrop to generate interest in a token without explicitly identifying a specific contract address. Belmar published multiple posts discussing an upcoming memecoin, describing plans for what he characterized as a major airdrop and making comparisons to other cryptocurrency projects. Because no contract address was publicly provided, several tokens emerged claiming association with his statements. Critics alleged that this ambiguity enabled speculation around multiple tokens while avoiding a direct endorsement of any particular asset.
- Profit ConnectProjectsA Las Vegas company that the SEC said was a $12M+ Ponzi scheme: it told 277+ investors their money would be invested in securities and crypto via an 'artificial intelligence supercomputer' guaranteeing 20–30% annual returns. The SEC halted it in 2021; over 90% of funds came from investors.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.