A United States federal court has entered a default judgment against Brian Early and Alisha Ann Kingrey, two board members behind the Fundsz investment scheme, ordering them to pay a combined $31.5 million over fraudulent digital asset and precious metals claims. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the decision on September 30, 2026, in the Middle District of Florida case CFTC v. Larralde et al., originally filed on July 31, 2023.
According to the court, the defendants misrepresented potential profits, trading risks, and past performance. Fundsz allegedly promised investors returns of more than 3% per week through a proprietary algorithm trading cryptocurrencies and precious metals. Promotional materials claimed that a $2,500 investment could grow to $1 million within four years, while investors were told they could withdraw funds plus interest after 180 days. The CFTC found the money was never traded as promised and the returns shown to clients were fabricated.
The judgment includes $15.73 million in restitution and $15.75 million in civil penalties. The court also permanently barred Early and Kingrey from trading and from registering with the CFTC.
The Fundsz action sits within a larger pattern of rising crypto fraud losses. The FBI reported 181,565 cryptocurrency-related complaints in 2025 with losses exceeding $11 billion, while the FTC recorded more than $7.9 billion in scam losses and a median loss above $10,000. Chainalysis estimates at least $14 billion was lost to crypto scams in 2025, potentially exceeding $17 billion once unidentified addresses are included. Regulatory bodies including the SEC and CFTC have also targeted Goliath Ventures and founder Christopher Delgado, with alleged investor losses of at least $425 million and customer losses of roughly $397 million, respectively.
Despite the court's order, the CFTC cautioned that repayment orders do not guarantee victims will recover funds if the defendants lack sufficient assets.
