Johann Steynberg
Founder and CEO of Mirror Trading International (MTI). A U.S. court ordered him to pay over $1.7B in restitution for the largest Bitcoin fraud the CFTC has charged. He was detained in Brazil and reported to have died in 2024.
Also known as: Cornelius Johannes Steynberg
Bio
Johann (Cornelius Johannes) Steynberg founded and ran Mirror Trading International (MTI), which accepted only Bitcoin for a "commodity pool" it claimed a bot traded. The CFTC charged him and MTI in what it called the largest Bitcoin fraud in any CFTC case. [1][2]
Legal outcome
A U.S. court ordered Steynberg to pay over $1.7 billion in restitution and a matching civil penalty. He was detained in Brazil and reported to have died in 2024. [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.
- Donald BasileIndividualsFounder behind Bitcoin Latinum (LTNM). The SEC charged him in 2026 with defrauding investors of ~$16M by falsely claiming the token was insured and asset-backed, and misappropriating funds for personal use (including a $160,000 horse).
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.