A businessman from Colorado and his UK-registered company have been accused of fraudulent activity regarding digital currency trading, taking over $1.1 million from over 600 customers.

The complaint which was brought by The Commodity Futures Trading Commission alleges that the fraudulent scheme began in April 2017. The defendant reportedly created fake advertising campaigns to encourage customers to use bitcoins in order to fund and participate in binary options trading pools.

The charges were filed against The Entrepreneurs Headquarters Limited, and its owner, Dillon Michael Dean, after the company are said to have wrongly taken bitcoin investment. When customers handed over their digital coins, the defendants are said to have given false account statements which detailed strong gains. The suspects apparently told their clients that their investment is safe, with guaranteed returns.

It is alleged that Dean used a Ponzi scheme where he released funds to traders claiming profits, when in actual fact they were other investors’ funds. If found guilty, Dean could face up to 20 years behind bars.

The CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, James McDonald, explained that as the interest in, and popularity of virtual currencies grew, it provided new opportunities for negative activity. He added that the defendants in this case attempted to take advantage of this public interest, and said that the CFTC want to show the world that fraudsters will be held accountable.