The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has ordered Stephen Ehrlich, co-founder and former chief executive of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital, to pay $750,000 to customers. The ruling, entered on September 15 in New York, also bars him from trading commodities for three years.
The consent order was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ehrlich will pay the funds through Voyager’s bankruptcy liquidation. The order also stops him from registering with the CFTC, managing third-party accounts, or breaking anti-fraud rules under the Commodity Exchange Act.
According to the press release, Ehrlich did not admit or deny the charges but agreed to settle. His attorney said he was pleased to end the case without further litigation. The CFTC first filed its lawsuit in October 2023, accusing him and Voyager of misleading customers about the safety of their holdings.
The regulator said Voyager promoted returns of up to 12% on digital assets. At the same time, the company lent large sums to outside firms that later failed. When those loans collapsed, Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 and froze customer accounts.
“Compensating victims and limiting a defendant’s ability to cause future harm are squarely within the CFTC’s core mission,” said Charles Marvine, Acting Chief of the Retail Fraud and General Enforcement Task Force. The regulator said the case shows its growing role in policing fraud in digital assets.
This is not Ehrlich’s first settlement with regulators. In June he agreed to pay $2.8 million to resolve charges from the Federal Trade Commission. That case centered on claims Voyager misled customers about Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protection. The FTC said Voyager created a false sense of security by marketing itself as insured.
That said, the new CFTC order adds financial penalties and strict restrictions on Ehrlich’s future in the commodities market. Regulators said they remain committed to protecting customers and holding executives responsible.
