Piotr Chajkowski, a Polish national, paid $1.02 million on April 10th to resolve claims stemming from the Traffic Monsoon investment scheme. Court filings confirm the payment, concluding a multi-year effort by the court-appointed receiver to recover funds from beneficiaries of the fraudulent operation.
Traffic Monsoon operated as an internet advertising program, but authorities later identified it as a sophisticated Ponzi scheme. Charles Scoville, its founder, solicited over $207 million from more than 160,000 participants worldwide by promising daily returns on ad-pack purchases. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shut down the Utah-based company in 2016, appointing a receiver to liquidate assets and distribute funds to victims.
Chajkowski was identified as one of eleven individuals who profited significantly from the scheme. He invested just $45,751 into Traffic Monsoon. He received $874,820 in returns before the company collapsed. This substantial net gain placed him among the prime targets for the receiver's recovery efforts.
The receiver initiated a lawsuit against Chajkowski in 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Chajkowski did not respond to the legal complaint. The court then entered a default judgment against him in June 2021. A formal default ruling followed in November 2021, establishing his total debt at $1,027,236, which included interest and fees.
Collecting funds from an individual residing outside the United States presented significant challenges. The receiver spent most of 2022 working to enforce the U.S. judgment within Poland, where Chajkowski lived. This process involved navigating international legal frameworks and local courts.
These enforcement efforts ultimately proved successful. In January 2024, Chajkowski agreed to settle the case. He made the full payment of $1.02 million, which the April court filing confirmed has been received. With this settlement, the receiver has now closed out the specific litigation against Piotr Chajkowski. The total recovery for Traffic Monsoon victims continues to grow through ongoing efforts.