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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"bc5dbae5-c6f2-477c-8b9b-6d7a57ba0a5f","kind":"publish","page_slug":"ronald-pope","published_at":"2026-10-01T23:03:02.116Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Ronald Pope","sections":[{"content":"On September 25, 2026, the CFTC filed a federal civil enforcement complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against five defendants: Cash FX Group S.A.; its CEO Huascar Jose Lopez Castillo (Brazil); The Conversion Pros, Inc.; its CEO Ronald Pope (Oregon); and promoter Justin Halladay (Florida). The complaint alleges the defendants jointly operated a fraudulent multilevel-marketing Ponzi scheme from at least June 28, 2019 through at least December 20, 2023, fraudulently soliciting and accepting over $950 million from members of the public for the purported purpose of trading retail foreign currency contracts in a commodity pool. The CFTC alleges that instead of conducting substantial forex trading, the defendants provided false account statements, made misrepresentations about expert traders, proprietary algorithms, and artificial intelligence, and promised up to 15% weekly returns. According to the CFTC, nearly all participant funds were misappropriated rather than traded, and confirmed participant losses total at least $406 million. The CFTC seeks permanent trading and registration bans, disgorgement, restitution, and civil monetary penalties against Pope individually. This is a civil complaint; the allegations have not yet been adjudicated by a court.","heading":"CFTC Civil Enforcement Action","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26: CFTC Charges Cash FX Group S.A., and CEO; Three Others With $950 Million Fraud Scheme","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Finance Magnates: CFTC Sues Cash FX over Alleged $950 Million Forex Ponzi Scheme","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/cftc-sues-cash-fx-over-alleged-950-million-forex-ponzi-scheme/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinTelegraph: CFTC sues Cash FX, alleges $950M crypto-linked forex scheme","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-sues-cash-fx-alleges-950m-crypto-linked-forex-scheme"}]},{"content":"According to the CFTC complaint, Pope was recruited by Cash FX Group CEO Huascar Jose Lopez Castillo in or around May 2019 to assist in building the scheme's infrastructure. The CFTC alleges Pope created the technical platform that enabled the operation to scale. In August 2019, Pope allegedly traveled from Nevada to Orlando, Florida to help plan the launch. Within the scheme's alleged hierarchy, Pope sat directly below Lopez and above promoter Justin Halladay, with The Conversion Pros reportedly providing backend infrastructure, payment processing, and website services for Cash FX Group across its more than 400,000 funded accounts. The CFTC alleges Pope personally received at least $15.4 million through Cash FX Group and fees collected by The Conversion Pros. During a 2019 corporate webinar, Pope is reported to have stated that he and Lopez had worked together for approximately eight years across multiple projects, indicating a prior business relationship predating the Cash FX operation.","heading":"Role in the Alleged Cash FX Scheme","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFTC files suit against CashFX Group, $950 mill Ponzi","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cftc-files-suit-against-cashfx-group-950-mill-ponzi/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"}]},{"content":"The CFTC complaint alleges that Pope made materially false statements about the legitimacy of Cash FX's trading operations in multiple YouTube videos. According to the complaint, in a video recorded on or about September 28, 2020, Pope stated: 'I've seen the trade reports because I work with the legal team and they pass through me. I have seen those reports I have seen the trades. They are real trades being indicated by the [Expert Advisor, i.e. trading bot].' The CFTC alleges these statements were false because Cash FX conducted minimal actual forex trading. The complaint additionally alleges Pope made false statements in further YouTube videos in March and June 2020. These alleged public misrepresentations form part of the CFTC's fraud and misrepresentation counts. These are allegations in a complaint that has not been adjudicated.","heading":"Alleged False Statements in Public Videos","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFTC files suit against CashFX Group, $950 mill Ponzi","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cftc-files-suit-against-cashfx-group-950-mill-ponzi/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"YouTube: CashFx - Ron Pope and Justin Halladay Admit They Started The Ponzi Scam","type":"other","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrMwHjemsvI"}]},{"content":"The Conversion Pros, Inc. is a cloud-based landing page and marketing tools platform founded by Pope in approximately 2015-2016, incorporated in Nevada and headquartered in Carson City, Nevada. Pope holds the titles of Founder, President, and CEO. According to a BehindMLM investigation, Pope is also listed as founder of several other Nevada and Nebraska corporate entities, including Zion Healing Center NV Holdings, BlockData Technologies, Inc., Legacy Management Services, Inc., and Syncier, LLC. The Conversion Pros is named as a co-defendant alongside Pope in the CFTC action, with the CFTC alleging the company served as the technical infrastructure provider for the Cash FX scheme.","heading":"The Conversion Pros, Inc. — Corporate Background","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"Tracxn: The Conversion Pros Company Profile","type":"other","url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/the-conversion-pros/__SRcPtRbNPN8CLb1aVsxI79shzruZZGPWIzXOTK49sho"},{"credibility":3,"name":"PonziPricks: Ron Pope profile","type":"community_report","url":"https://ponzipricks.com/ron-pope/"}]},{"content":"Following the collapse of the Cash FX Group scheme and the disappearance of Lopez in late 2021, Pope and The Conversion Pros are alleged by BehindMLM — a website covering multi-level marketing companies — to have launched a rebranded portal called CFX Legacy (cfxlegacy.com) on approximately July 27, 2023. According to BehindMLM's reporting, the CFX Legacy website was built using The Conversion Pros' technical infrastructure and was presented to existing Cash FX investors as a new account portal after the original cashfxgroup.com domain accumulated more than 23 regulatory fraud warnings across multiple jurisdictions. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) added CFX Legacy to its existing Cash FX Group fraud warning in August 2024. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued a securities fraud warning for CFX Legacy, noting it held no Australian financial services licence. The CFTC complaint's alleged timeframe for the scheme extends through at least December 20, 2023, which overlaps with the CFX Legacy reboot period. These are allegations and regulatory warnings; no court has adjudicated Pope's specific role in CFX Legacy.","heading":"CFX Legacy Reboot (2023)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: Ron Pope running CashFX Group's CFX Legacy reboot?","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/ron-pope-running-cashfx-groups-cfx-legacy-reboot/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFX Legacy added to UK's CashFX Group fraud warning","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cfx-legacy-added-to-uks-cashfx-group-fraud-warning/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFX Legacy securities fraud warning from Australia","type":"regulatory","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cfx-legacy-securities-fraud-warning-from-australia/"}]},{"content":"The broader Cash FX Group operation accumulated regulatory fraud warnings and adverse actions across multiple jurisdictions over the course of its operation. The UK FCA first issued a warning about Cash FX Group in December 2019, stating the firm was not authorised and might be providing or promoting financial services without UK permission. A UK criminal investigation was launched but was abandoned in December 2023 without charges filed. The Dominican Republic issued a Cash FX Group fraud warning in November 2021. CFX Legacy, the rebranded portal linked to Pope and The Conversion Pros, received additional warnings from the UK FCA (August 2024) and ASIC. These warnings pertain to the broader Cash FX Group enterprise and do not exclusively name Pope, but the CFTC complaint identifies The Conversion Pros as having provided the technical backbone of that enterprise.","heading":"International Regulatory Context","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CashFX Group under criminal investigation in UK","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cashfx-group-under-criminal-investigation-in-uk/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFX Legacy securities fraud warning from Australia","type":"regulatory","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cfx-legacy-securities-fraud-warning-from-australia/"}]},{"content":"As of October 1, 2026, the CFTC's civil enforcement complaint against Pope and the other defendants remains at the complaint stage. No guilty plea, consent order, default judgment, or trial verdict has been publicly reported. The allegations — including all characterizations of Pope's conduct as fraudulent or as participation in a Ponzi scheme — are the CFTC's assertions and have not been proven in court. Pope has not made any publicly reported statement responding to the complaint. This page will require updating as the litigation progresses.","heading":"Case Status and Adjudication","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26: CFTC Charges Cash FX Group S.A., and CEO; Three Others With $950 Million Fraud Scheme","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Finance Magnates: CFTC Sues Cash FX over Alleged $950 Million Forex Ponzi Scheme","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/cftc-sues-cash-fx-over-alleged-950-million-forex-ponzi-scheme/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinTelegraph: CFTC sues Cash FX, alleges $950M crypto-linked forex scheme","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/cftc-sues-cash-fx-alleges-950m-crypto-linked-forex-scheme"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFTC files suit against CashFX Group, $950 mill Ponzi","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cftc-files-suit-against-cashfx-group-950-mill-ponzi/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: Ron Pope running CashFX Group's CFX Legacy reboot?","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/ron-pope-running-cashfx-groups-cfx-legacy-reboot/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFX Legacy added to UK's CashFX Group fraud warning","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cfx-legacy-added-to-uks-cashfx-group-fraud-warning/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BehindMLM: CFX Legacy securities fraud warning from Australia","type":"regulatory","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cfx-legacy-securities-fraud-warning-from-australia/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Cryptonomist: CFTC Fraud Charges Target $950M Cash FX Ponzi Scheme","type":"news_article","url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/09/26/cftc-fraud-charges-cash-fx/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoTimes: CFTC Sues Cash FX Group Over Alleged $950M Crypto-Linked Forex Scheme","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/09/26/cftc-charges-cash-fx-over-950m-forex-scheme-involving-crypto/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Tracxn: The Conversion Pros Company Profile","type":"other","url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/the-conversion-pros/__SRcPtRbNPN8CLb1aVsxI79shzruZZGPWIzXOTK49sho"},{"credibility":3,"name":"PonziPricks: Ron Pope profile","type":"community_report","url":"https://ponzipricks.com/ron-pope/"}],"summary":"Ronald Pope is the founder and CEO of The Conversion Pros, Inc., a Nevada-incorporated technology company. He is a named defendant in a civil enforcement complaint filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on September 25, 2026, alleging his central role in a multilevel-marketing Ponzi scheme operating under the Cash FX Group brand that the CFTC alleges solicited over $950 million from more than 400,000 accounts globally. The complaint is a civil accusation; no criminal charges have been publicly filed against Pope and no court has entered a finding of liability as of the investigation date.","timeline":[{"date":"2015-11-01","event":"Ronald Pope founds The Conversion Pros, Inc., a cloud-based marketing tools platform, later incorporated in Nevada.","source":"LinkedIn / Tracxn company profile","source_url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/the-conversion-pros/__SRcPtRbNPN8CLb1aVsxI79shzruZZGPWIzXOTK49sho"},{"date":"2019-05-01","event":"According to the CFTC complaint, Lopez recruits Pope to assist in building the Cash FX Group scheme's technical infrastructure.","source":"BehindMLM: CFTC files suit against CashFX Group","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cftc-files-suit-against-cashfx-group-950-mill-ponzi/"},{"date":"2019-06-28","event":"CFTC complaint's alleged start date for the joint fraudulent scheme involving Pope, Lopez, The Conversion Pros, Cash FX Group, and Halladay.","source":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26","source_url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"},{"date":"2019-08-01","event":"Pope allegedly travels from Nevada to Orlando, Florida to help plan the launch of Cash FX Group.","source":"BehindMLM: CFTC files suit against CashFX Group","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cftc-files-suit-against-cashfx-group-950-mill-ponzi/"},{"date":"2019-12-01","event":"UK Financial Conduct Authority issues first fraud warning for Cash FX Group, stating it was not authorised to operate in the UK.","source":"BehindMLM: CashFX Group under criminal investigation in UK","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cashfx-group-under-criminal-investigation-in-uk/"},{"date":"2020-09-28","event":"Pope allegedly records a YouTube video stating he has personally reviewed Cash FX trade reports and that the trades are real, a statement the CFTC alleges was false.","source":"BehindMLM: CFTC files suit against CashFX Group","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cftc-files-suit-against-cashfx-group-950-mill-ponzi/"},{"date":"2021-11-01","event":"Dominican Republic issues a Cash FX Group fraud warning; Lopez allegedly disappears.","source":"BehindMLM: Ron Pope running CashFX Group's CFX Legacy reboot?","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/ron-pope-running-cashfx-groups-cfx-legacy-reboot/"},{"date":"2023-07-27","event":"CFX Legacy (cfxlegacy.com) launches, a rebranded portal built on The Conversion Pros' infrastructure, which BehindMLM alleges Pope was operating to serve residual Cash FX investors.","source":"BehindMLM: Ron Pope running CashFX Group's CFX Legacy reboot?","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/ron-pope-running-cashfx-groups-cfx-legacy-reboot/"},{"date":"2023-12-20","event":"CFTC complaint's alleged end date for the joint fraudulent scheme. UK abandons its criminal investigation without charges.","source":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26 / BehindMLM reporting","source_url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"},{"date":"2024-08-01","event":"UK FCA adds CFX Legacy to its existing Cash FX Group fraud warning.","source":"BehindMLM: CFX Legacy added to UK's CashFX Group fraud warning","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/cashfx-group/cfx-legacy-added-to-uks-cashfx-group-fraud-warning/"},{"date":"2026-09-25","event":"CFTC files civil enforcement complaint against Cash FX Group S.A., Huascar Jose Lopez Castillo, The Conversion Pros, Inc., Ronald Pope, and Justin Halladay in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging a $950 million multilevel-marketing Ponzi scheme.","source":"CFTC Press Release 9304-26","source_url":"https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/9304-26"}]},"v":1}