A defunct crypto platform left customers short by $18.8 million US
A B.C. crypto platform director has agreed to pay $1 million to regulators, entering into a settlement agreement with the BC Securities Commission on February 27, 2026.
In Re Gokturk (2026 BCSECCOM 58), Michael Ongun Gokturk, the sole director of three now-dissolved British Columbia companies (Einstein Capital Partners Ltd., Einstein Exchange Inc., and Einstein Law Corporation) resolved enforcement proceedings stemming from the collapse of a crypto trading platform. Einstein Law Corporation, despite its name, was not an incorporated law practice, and Gokturk was not a lawyer.
Between September 2017 and November 2019, the Einstein Corporations operated a platform that accepted customer deposits and promised safe, secure storage of money and cryptocurrency. Customers were told they could withdraw funds same-day, that assets were kept in cold storage, and that the platform provided an unparalleled combination of secure and responsive currency management. None of it was true. The companies transferred customer assets into their own bank accounts and into wallets at third-party trading platforms, using those funds to finance platform operations and pay out other customers.
After the platform became insolvent in January 2018, the respondents continued to accept deposits, operating the platform as a Ponzi scheme. They purported to act as a counterparty to customer trades but failed to acquire corresponding assets to fulfill those transactions. They populated customer account dashboards with false information suggesting that orders had been processed and assets remained available. After becoming insolvent, they also continued to enter into separate contracts to trade crypto assets in bulk with large investors using customer money and crypto assets.
At its peak on January 9, 2018, the platform held more than $34 million USD in customer assets. By July 2019, it owed customers approximately $18.9 million USD but held only around $100,000 USD in assets, leaving a shortfall of approximately $18.8 million USD. The Einstein Corporations entered receivership on November 1, 2019.
In November 2019, the BCSC applied to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for an order appointing an interim receiver to preserve and protect any assets of Einstein Exchange. The interim receiver reported that the platform held less than $45,000 in cash and crypto assets against customer liabilities of more than US$18 million. The Einstein Corporations were dissolved in 2020 with no assets remaining.
Gokturk, who was formerly registered under the Securities Act as an investment advisor from August 2002 to March 2003 and as a salesperson from March 2003 to September 2006 before establishing the Einstein entities, directed, authorized, or acquiesced in the corporations' misconduct. All three Einstein corporate entities had never been registered in any capacity under the Act.
The settlement required Gokturk to pay $1 million to the BCSC — described by the Commission as the maximum amount that could be levied for such misconduct. The BCSC noted a number of mitigating factors: Gokturk did not misappropriate customer funds, did not engage in speculative investments with customers' funds, and did not personally benefit from the misconduct of the Einstein Corporations. He also used approximately $1 million of his own money to fund the platform and return some funds to users, and had no prior history of securities misconduct.
Beyond the financial penalty, Gokturk is required to resign any position he holds as director or officer of an issuer or registrant, and is permanently prohibited from trading in or purchasing any securities or derivatives, except in his own name through one non-registered account, one registered retirement account, and one registered tax-free savings account through a registrant, provided he gives the registrant a copy of the agreement. He is also permanently prohibited from relying on any exemptions set out in the Act, the regulations or a decision, becoming or acting as a director or officer of an issuer or registrant, becoming or acting as a registrant or promoter, and advising or otherwise acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with activities in the securities or derivatives market.
He is further permanently prohibited from engaging in promotional activities by or on behalf of an issuer, a security holder or party to a derivative, or another person that is reasonably expected to benefit from the promotional activity, as well as on his own behalf in respect of circumstances that would reasonably be expected to benefit him.
The Executive Director issued a Notice of Discontinuance on March 2, 2026, ending proceedings against Gokturk and the remaining respondents. In a news release, BCSC noted that the fraud occurred before Canadian securities regulators confirmed that most crypto trading platforms were required to be registered and meet prescribed conditions to protect investors.
