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.

FOREX TRADER TO PAY $819,000 IN COMMODITY POOL FRAUD AND MISAPPROPRIATION CASE

FROM:  COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 

CFTC Orders Pennsylvania Resident Christopher A. Engel and Pinnacle Forex Group LLC to Pay Restitution and a Civil Monetary Penalty Totaling More than $819,000 for Engaging in Commodity Pool Fraud and Misappropriation

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today entered an Order requiring Respondents Christopher A. Engel and Pinnacle Forex Group LLC (Pinnacle), both of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, jointly to pay a $414,000 civil monetary penalty and restitution totaling $405,378 to defrauded customers for committing fraud and misappropriation in connection with operating a commodity pool that traded leveraged or margined off-exchange foreign currency contracts (forex).

The Order also requires Engel and Pinnacle to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as charged, and permanently bans them from registering, trading, and engaging in other CFTC-regulated activities. Engel owned and operated Pinnacle, and neither Engel nor Pinnacle has ever been registered with the CFTC.

Specifically, according to the Order, from approximately June 2011 to October 2012, Engel falsely told prospective pool participants that Pinnacle managed client accounts worth tens of millions of dollars and that Pinnacle was registered with the CFTC. Also, the Respondents solicited and obtained approximately $414,000 from at least 21 pool participants to participate in a commodity pool to trade leveraged or margined off-exchange forex. However, according to the Order, Engel only deposited approximately $137,000 into forex trading accounts, which he later withdrew and misappropriated. Engel fabricated profits and commissions in statements and emails sent to pool participants to conceal his misappropriation of their funds. Engel used the misappropriated funds to purchase automobiles, a natural foods store, and other personal items, the Order finds. The total loss to pool participants was approximately $405,378, according to the Order.

Additionally, the Order finds that between approximately July 2011 and October 2012, Engel and Pinnacle illegally operated as a Commodity Pool Operator without being registered as such with the CFTC.

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.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Futures Association in this matter.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Patrick Daly, Michael C. McLaughlin, Patryk J. Chudy, David W. MacGregor, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan.

CFTC CHARGES MAN AND COMPANY WITH FRAUD AND EMBEZZLEMENT RELATED TO COMMODITY POOL AND PONZI SCHEME

FROM:  COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

CFTC Charges Ohio Resident John R. Bullar and his Company, Executive Management Advisors L.L.C., with Fraud and Embezzlement in Operating an $8.3 Million Commodity Pool and Ponzi Scheme

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed a federal civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against Defendants John R. Bullar, who resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Executive Management Advisors L.L.C., a company organized in Ohio and of which Bullar was the sole principal. The CFTC Complaint charges that the Defendants, while acting as Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs) and Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), fraudulently solicited over $8.3 million from at least 40 investors for pooling and trading in futures and options; provided participants with false account statements; embezzled and misappropriated participants’ funds; and acted as CPOs and CTAs while failing to register as such with the CFTC.

The CFTC Complaint alleges that the Defendants represented to participants that their funds would be pooled in a managed account to trade commodity futures and options contracts on designated contract markets. However, according to the Complaint, only a fraction of the participants’ funds was traded. Instead, as alleged, the Defendants operated a Ponzi scheme and misappropriated and embezzled approximately $6 million of participants’ funds. Bullar used these funds to pay his personal expenses, make cash withdrawals, issue checks to himself, and transfer money to his personal accounts or accounts that he controlled, according to the Complaint.

The CFTC Complaint further alleges that the Defendants misrepresented and omitted material facts to pool participants by intentionally or recklessly (1) failing to disclose that most of the participants’ funds would not be invested and traded, (2) failing to disclose that Defendants were misappropriating and embezzling participants’ funds, (3) providing participants with false account statements showing fictitious profits and account balances and concealing trading losses, and (4) failing to disclose that pool participant funds were being used to pay certain pool participants their fictitious trading profits and/or balances as reported on false account statements for such participants.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and permanent injunctions from further violations of the federal commodities laws, as charged.

The CFTC thanks and acknowledges the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, the Internal Revenue Service (Cincinnati Field Office), the Ohio Department of Commerce (Division of Securities-Enforcement), and the Office of the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this action are Xavier Romeu-Matta, Christopher Giglio, Douglas K. Yatter, Steven Ringer, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan.

COURT FREEZES ASSETS AND PROTECTS BOOKS IN COMMODITY POOL FRAUD CASE

FROM:  U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 
July 12, 2013
CFTC Charges Texas-based RFF GP, LLC, KGW Capital Management, LLC, and Kevin G. White with Commodity Pool Fraud

Federal court issues emergency Order freezing assets and protecting books and records

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas entered an emergency Order freezing and preserving the remaining pool participants’ assets under the control of Defendants RFF GP, LLC (RFF GP), KGW Capital Management, LLC (KGW Capital), and Kevin G. White, and Relief Defendants Revelation Forex Fund, LP, Meridian Propane LP, and W Corporate Real Estate, LP (d/b/a KGW Real Estate), all of Plano, Texas. The Order also prohibits defendants and relief defendants from destroying books and records, grants the CFTC immediate access to those records, and appoints a temporary receiver to protect pool participants’ funds.

The Order arises out of a civil enforcement Complaint filed by the CFTC on July 9, 2013, charging RFF GP, KGW Capital, and White with fraudulently soliciting at least $5.8 million from at least 20 actual and prospective pool participants to participate in an off-exchange foreign currency (forex) commodity pool and misappropriating at least $1.7 million of pool participants’ funds.

According to the CFTC’s Complaint, the Defendants lured the public to invest by fraudulently telling prospective pool participants that their trading had been profitable, specifically touting compound annual growth rates as high as 37.08% and a total return on investment of 385.84% from 2009 to April 30, 2013. Further, Defendants allegedly told prospective pool participants that White had a 25-year successful career as a Wall Street broker. The Complaint alleges that, in fact, defendants had been losing money since beginning trading, which had not commenced until September 2011. The Complaint alleges further that the Defendants failed to disclose the fact that they had been losing money, that they had been misappropriating pool participants’ funds, that White had been fired from his employment as a broker after a seven-year career in the securities industry, and that White had been both censured and barred by the New York Stock Exchange.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks a permanent injunction from future violations of federal commodities laws, permanent registration and trading bans, restitution to defrauded pool participants, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil monetary penalties.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Nevada Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fort Worth, Texas regional office.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this case are Harry E. Wedewer, Dmitriy Vilenskiy, Jeremy Christianson, Rainey Perez, John Einstman, Paul G. Hayeck, and Joan Manley.