TEXAS BUSINESS OWNER INDICTED FOR FAILING TO REPORT OVR $1.6 MILLION IN CASH TRANSACTIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, October 20, 2014

Owner of Texas Perfume Business Indicted for Violating Cash Reporting Requirements Involving More Than $1.6 million

The owner and president of a wholesale and retail perfume store in Laredo, Texas, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on 44 counts of causing his business to fail to report cash transactions of more than $10,000.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas made the announcement.

The indictment alleges that Virender Sharma, 59, of Laredo, Texas, was the owner and president of T.M. Perfumes, and was responsible for complying with the cash reporting requirements for the company.  Despite knowing of his filing obligations since 2006, Sharma allegedly caused the business to fail to report at least 44 cash transactions exceeding $10,000 between June 2009 and July 2010, which totaled more than $1.6 million.

The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Keith Liddle of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Imperato of the Southern District of Texas.

Labor Department News Releases Update

Labor Department News Releases Update

CFTC SETTLES ACTION AGAINST FUTURES COMMISSION MERCHANT

FROM:  U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 

CFTC Settles Action against Friedberg Mercantile Group, Inc., a Registered Futures Commission Merchant, for Secured Amount Deficiency, Commingling of Customer Funds and Failure to Timely Report Secured Amount Deficiency

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it entered an order requiring Friedberg Mercantile Group, Inc. (Friedberg), a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) in Toronto, Canada, to pay a $70,000 civil monetary penalty for a secured amount deficiency of approximately $240,000 on February 5, 2013, commingling of customer funds with its proprietary funds on February 6, 2013, and failure to timely notify the CFTC of the February 5, 2013 secured amount deficiency as required.

Friedberg is a subsidiary of Canadian broker-dealer Friedberg Mercantile Group, Ltd., also in Toronto. The company maintains a futures business to accommodate its securities customers who wish to trade futures and is one of the smallest FCMs as measured by customer assets required in segregation.

The CFTC Order finds that Friedberg’s handling of a customer request to transfer $300,000 of segregated funds to secured funds caused Friedberg to be under its secured amount requirement by approximately $240,000 on February 5, 2013, and its subsequent movement of funds to its secured account in connection with the same customer request resulted in Friedberg improperly commingling customer funds with its proprietary funds on February 6, 2013.

According to the CFTC Order, Friedberg failed to timely notify the CFTC of the February 5, 2013 secured amount deficiency as required.

The CFTC’s Order requires Friedberg to cease and desist from further violations of the CFTC Regulations charged in the Order, and imposes a $70,000 civil monetary penalty.

The CFTC staff members responsible for this matter are Division of Enforcement staff Susan Gradman, Allison Passman, Joseph Patrick, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner, and Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight staff Nicholas Chiacchere, Robert Loeber, Gerald Nudge and Kevin Piccoli.

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