CFTC subpoenas Ben ‘BitBoy’ Armstrong’s former company in fraud investigation, asks about activity for tokens such as BEN

The CFTC is looking into possibly fraudulent crypto activity carried out by unknown individuals, which may have involved 15 tokens including the memecoin BEN.

The agency issued a subpoena on July 16 to Hit Network, the crypto-focused media company that previously had Ben Armstrong — known as “BitBoy” — as its public face. The subpoena, seen by The Block, requests information about trading activity and digital wallets connected with the 15 tokens. It states that this is part of an investigation into persons engaged in fraud with respect to digital currencies and related unlawful conduct.

Armstrong featured all of the tokens mentioned in various videos. For instance, according to the title of a YouTube video, one of them had the best potential to rise 100X in price. The subpoena did not make any reference to Armstrong.

The videos mentioning the tokens — except for BEN — were made in or prior to March 2021 under the BitBoy Crypto branding. That month, Hit Network was formed as a media company with Armstrong as the host of its flagship show.

A volatile exit

Armstrong was part of the company until August 2023, when he was removed by current CEO T.J. Shedd over allegations of substance abuse (Armstrong later admitted to taking diet pills and steroids but denied taking hard drugs). After his departure, Armstrong was arrested for turning up at a former business partner’s house in the hope of reclaiming a disputed Lamborghini. He is currently in litigation against Hit Network over his exit and the vehicle.

In a statement, Armstrong claimed that his former colleagues took over financial control of the BitBoy Crypto brand in 2020 and made various accusations about them, similar to those he’s made online. He said he “could not be more happy about” the subpoena.

“All I have asked for over a year, is for people to listen to me,” Armstrong told The Block. “Everyone in this industry almost turned on me. And now, many of those people will begin to feel the weight of their betrayals as many of them will end up connected.”

When he was at the company, Armstrong would regularly host YouTube videos where he recommended tokens that he said would make his audience rich — although many such tokens saw price declines instead. The YouTuber has admitted doing paid promotions of crypto scams, although he claims this was accidental. He once paid blockchain sleuth ZackXBT $10,000 for being able to show that he had done undisclosed promotions in the past.

One of the tokens listed in the subpoena is a memecoin called BEN. It was created by a pseudonymous influencer known as ben.eth on May 5, 2023. A few days later, Armstrong said he had joined the token’s core team. On June 5, he parted ways with the project but, earlier this year, took over as CEO himself.

According to a source close to Hit Network, Armstrong’s activity involving the memecoin was one of the reasons that led to his exit. Other people at the company did not want the token to be part of its business.

Hit Network declined to comment for this article. The CFTC did not reply to a request for comment.