Ozburn-Hessey Logistics Complies with Federal Court Order, Reinstates 9 Discharged Employees

Ozburn-Hessey Logistics Complies with Federal Court Order, Reinstates 9 Discharged Employees

FACT SHEET: Middle Class Economics: Strengthening Retirement Security by Cracking Down on Backdoor Payments and Hidden Fees | The White House

FACT SHEET: Middle Class Economics: Strengthening Retirement Security by Cracking Down on Backdoor Payments and Hidden Fees | The White House

SEC.gov | Readout of SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s Meeting with European Union Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill

SEC.gov | Readout of SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s Meeting with European Union Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill

SOME CONSUMERS WHO LOST MONEY ON 'FAT BURNING' AND 'CALORIE BLOCKING' DIET PILLS, WILL RECEIVE REFUND CHECKS

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

FTC Sends Refund Checks Totaling More Than $464,000 to Consumers Who Lost Money Buying Deceptively Marketed ‘Fat Burning’, ‘Calorie Blocking’ Diet Pills

More Than 11,500 Checks Are Being Mailed Starting Today

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 11,585 refund checks totaling more than $464,000 starting today to consumers who lost money buying dietary supplements deceptively marketed as “fat burning” and “calorie blocking.” These are legitimate checks, and the FTC encourages consumers who receive them to cash them before they expire on April 21.

The refunds are being made from funds collected through a July 2014 settlement with Canadian marketers who falsely claimed that their Double Shot pills would cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight loss without diet or exercise. According to the FTC’s complaint, Manon Fernet and the company she controls, which did business as the “Freedom Center Against Obesity,” marketed Double Shot to U.S. consumers from 2012 through October 2013. The company falsely claimed that users could eat as much of any food as they wanted and lose 15 to 20 pounds a week, just by taking the pills.

Rust Consulting, Inc., the redress administrator for this matter, will mail refund checks to eligible consumers beginning today. The checks must be cashed by April 21, 2015 or they will become void. Recipients should note that the FTC never requires consumers to pay money or provide information before redress checks can be cashed.

MAN AND COMPANIES TO PAY OVER $6.7 MILLION FOR DEFRAUDING INVESTORS THROUGH COMMODITY POOLS

FROM:  U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 

February 13, 2015

Federal Court Orders Scott M. Ross and his Companies to Pay More than $6.7 Million in Restitution and a Civil Monetary Penalty for Defrauding Investors in His Commodity Pools, Mishandling Customer Funds, and Failing to Properly Register as a Commodity Pool Operator

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a federal court Order requiring Defendants Scott M. Ross, formerly of Gilberts, Illinois, and his companies, Maize Capital Management, LLC and Maize Asset Management, LLC, jointly to pay $5,402,818.89 in restitution to the participants in his fraudulent and illegal “Maize Fund” investment scheme, as well as a $1.3 million civil penalty. The court previously entered a Consent Order that imposes permanent trading and registration bans against all Defendants. Ross currently is incarcerated in Federal prison for his role in two other fraudulent investment scams.

The Memorandum Opinion and Order, entered by Judge James B. Zagel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, stems from a CFTC Complaint filed in September 2009, charging Ross and his companies with violating the core anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (Act) in connection with activities relating to the solicitation and management of a pooled foreign exchange account called the Maize Fund. According to the Complaint, Ross and his companies engaged in extensive fraud and other unlawful conduct by making false statements to prospective investors in marketing materials, issuing false account statements that reflected profits when trading was not profitable, mishandling customer funds, and failing to properly register with the CFTC as a Commodity Pool Operator (see CFTC Press Release 5712-09).

In the Order, the court finds that Ross and his companies unquestionably were the cause of customers’ losses. “[T]he fraudulent acts in this case were, by their nature, a part of every transaction relating to the Fund. Every dollar in the Fund was both obtained and retained through fraud,” the Order finds. The Order further finds that the Defendants violated “core provisions of the Act and these violations severely harmed the Fund’s customers,” thus warranting the imposition of a substantial penalty.

The CFTC cautions victims that restitution orders may not result in the recovery of money lost because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this action are Joseph Konizeski, Elizabeth Pendleton, Michael Tallarico, William Janulis, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.