# MESA, ARIZONA PONZI SCHEME OPERATOR, RONALD STEPHEN HOLT, HELD IN CIVIL CONTEMPT FOR REFUSING TO REVEAL LOCATION OF VICTIMS' FUNDS; Court Orders Holt Jailed After 'Show Cause' Hearing; Action Stems from CFTC Antifraud Charges Brought Against Holt in September 2003

> CFTC release 4975-04 · 2004-08-17 · **Ponzi scheme** · ENFORCEMENT

## Key facts

- **Release number:** 4975-04
- **Release date:** 2004-08-17
- **Type:** Ponzi scheme
- **Title:** MESA, ARIZONA PONZI SCHEME OPERATOR, RONALD STEPHEN HOLT, HELD IN CIVIL CONTEMPT FOR REFUSING TO REVEAL LOCATION OF VICTIMS' FUNDS; Court Orders Holt Jailed After 'Show Cause' Hearing; Action Stems from CFTC Antifraud Charges Brought Against Holt in September 2003
- **Primary source:** https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/4975-04

## What this is

CFTC enforcement actions cover derivatives + commodities + crypto fraud cases. The Commission charges market participants under the Commodity Exchange Act for spoofing, manipulation, fraud, wash trades, registration violations, and pool-operator misconduct. Most actions settle with restitution + civil money penalty + a bar/suspension.


## Citation

> US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, press release 4975-04, "MESA, ARIZONA PONZI SCHEME OPERATOR, RONALD STEPHEN HOLT, HELD IN CIVIL CONTEMPT FOR REFUSING TO REVEAL LOCATION OF VICTIMS' FUNDS; Court Orders Holt Jailed After 'Show Cause' Hearing; Action Stems from CFTC Antifraud Charges Brought Against Holt in September 2003", 2004-08-17. Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-17 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/cftc-action/4975-04.

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