When a prop firm closes: chargebacks, crypto, evidence

On 28 August 2023 the US regulator CFTC sued Traders Global Group, the company behind My Forex Funds (MFF). The allegation: MFF told customers they traded against third-party "liquidity providers", while it was itself the counterparty to substantially all trades. According to the complaint, more than 135,000 customers had signed up and paid at least USD 310 million in fees^[2][6].

On 29 August 2023 a federal court in New Jersey froze all of the defendants' assets at the CFTC's request^[3]. The same day the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) ordered that all trading in the company's securities cease. On 21 December 2023 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice appointed Grant Thornton Limited as receiver over the assets^[6]. MFF describes what that meant for customers: its global workforce was disbanded instantly, customers were left without support or service, and its assets and data stayed under court control for more than two years^[7].

In November 2023 the US court cut the freeze to USD 12,080,000 and released the rest. It criticised the CFTC for not correcting an error in a declaration that it knew about ("troubling at best"). At the same time it found a prima facie case for the allegations and, for the time being, barred soliciting customers for the MFF programmes^[3].

On 13 May 2025 the court granted the defendants' motion for sanctions and dismissed the CFTC's complaint with prejudice. The order contains no ruling on the merits of the allegations^[4]. In July 2025 the court ordered the CFTC to pay the defendants USD 3,148,484.22 in legal fees and costs^[5].

MFF calls this a vindication. On 3 February 2026 it announced that payout requests that were valid and verified in August 2023 would be paid; it could not yet commit to a definitive process^[8]. Today its website announces a relaunch on 23 November 2026. Pending rewards, it says, are almost completed. Accounts that remained active through the "Claims Form Process" are to be restored to their state of 29 August 2023: evaluation accounts with the phase and equity they had then, "funded" accounts without a payout or refund in the process with the equity they had then. According to the website the brand is now operated by a company in Dubai^[9].

What True Forex Funds' website shows today is shorter: the firm says it has ceased all operations and is closing permanently due to financial insolvency, after efforts to stabilise its finances failed. The notice gives no date, no contact address and no word on refunds or outstanding payouts^[10].

In an insolvency, according to the European Consumer Centre Germany (EVZ), the insolvency administrator is the one to contact. The EVZ explicitly lists a company's insolvency among the cases where a card chargeback should be considered^[12].

• It can take a long time. More than two years passed between the freeze at MFF and its announcement that old payout requests would be paid^[8].
• An allegation is not a ruling. The CFTC's case ended in sanctions against the regulator^[4]. A regulator's action tells you there is a risk, not how it ends.
• The firm decides what comes back. At MFF the firm set which requests and accounts it recognises: valid and verified payout requests, accounts from the claims process^[8][9]. True Forex Funds' notice says nothing about it at all^[10].
• The balance is not a deposit. MFF's new operator itself writes that all accounts are simulated accounts and that no customer funds are held^[9]. What is at stake in a closure is mainly the fee you paid and the payouts you requested.

The firm first. Ask for a refund in writing, by email for instance, with a short deadline; the EVZ suggests no more than a week^[12]. Visa says you cannot start a chargeback without having tried this^[11].

Then your bank. A chargeback is a reversal through the bank that issued your card, not through Visa or Mastercard directly. It rests on the card schemes' rules, which the EVZ says are similar worldwide, and it is provisional at first, because the merchant can object^[12]. On its UK consumer page Visa lists grounds such as a service that was not provided and a seller that has gone out of business. Visa also says that a chargeback is not a legal right and that a refund is not certain^[11].

Deadlines. The EVZ says it is usually up to 120 days, mostly counted from the date of the charge; in an insolvency you should act as soon as it is known^[12]. Visa says you usually have up to 120 days after the purchase and advises claiming as soon as possible if a seller has gone, or is likely to go, out of business. You cannot claim more than the purchase price^[11].

For comparison: between the freeze at MFF in August 2023 and the announced relaunch in November 2026 lie more than three years^[9]. If you wait for proceedings to end, the deadline may be long gone. If your purchase was a while ago, ask your bank whether a deadline is still running.

Other ways you paid. If you paid through a digital wallet (such as Apple Pay or Google Pay) with a linked card, a chargeback works the same as with the card itself, Visa says^[11]. PayPal has its own buyer protection with its own rules. With debit cards, per the EVZ, a chargeback only works if the payment ran through the system of an international card scheme such as Visa or Mastercard, not the purely national Girocard system, and if the amount was not charged immediately and finally, as with a reservation. How banks apply this can differ, the EVZ says; ask your bank^[12].

Refusals. Common reasons, per the EVZ: reported too late, merchant not contacted first, mere dissatisfaction rather than non-delivery^[12]. An account you lost under the rules is not on Visa's list of grounds either^[11]. If your bank refuses, ask for the reason in writing; in Germany the EVZ names the arbitration bodies for banking disputes as the next step^[12].

Crypto has no such route. The US consumer agency FTC writes that cryptocurrency payments typically are not reversible and that you can usually only get your money back if the person you paid sends it back. Credit and debit cards, the FTC says, have legal protections if something goes wrong; crypto payments typically do not^[13]. The EVZ also names a credit or debit card payment as the condition for a chargeback^[12].

So you choose your way back at checkout. According to its firm profile FTMO takes card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Revolut Pay, Skrill, crypto and bank transfer^[14]. Topstep lists card, Google Pay and Apple Pay^[15]; crypto is not on that list. We read both payment pages again on 2 November 2026.

Store everything outside the firm's dashboard. At MFF, according to MFF, assets and data were under court control for more than two years^[7], and True Forex Funds' home page now shows nothing but the closure notice^[10].

1. 1Proof of purchase: invoice or order confirmation with date, amount and the name of the company that sold to you. Visa lists the seller's name and details and the date of purchase as the first things a claim needs^[11].
2. 2Proof of payment: card statement or payment receipt^[12]; for crypto, the transaction ID and the receiving address.
3. 3Rules and terms as they stood when you bought, as a PDF or screenshot. The firm alone sets the rules^[1]. At its relaunch MFF lets customers choose between the original and the new programme rules^[9].
4. 4Balance and phase with a date, such as a screenshot of the dashboard. MFF restores accounts to the phase and equity of a cut-off date^[9]; with your own records you can check such figures.
5. 5Payout requests with date, amount and confirmation. MFF refers to valid and verified requests^[8].
6. 6Correspondence: emails, chat logs and screenshots^[12]. Visa also names invoices, receipts and written correspondence^[11].
7. 7The closure notice itself, with the date you saw it. True Forex Funds' notice carries no date^[10].

What a simulated account is and where prop firms' income comes from is covered in "Funded" explained. Each firm's payment methods and rules are on its profile, for example FTMO and Topstep.