South Florida Arbitration & Litigation Lawyer Blog
Broker/Dealer and Account Executive Fraud, Misrepresentation and Mismanagement Litigation and Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.
CFTC Charges Florida Firm Angus Jackson, Inc. and its CFO Martin H. Bedick with Making False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Statements to the NFA
Martin B. Rosenthal, an unregistered trader, allegedly aided and abetted Bedick in making false and misleading statements to the NFA; Rosenthal is also charged with violating a trading prohibition for failure to comply with an existing CFTC order
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently filed a civil enforcement action against Angus Jackson, Inc. (Angus Jackson) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Martin H. Bedick, Angus Jackson’s Chief Financial Officer, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Martin B. Rosenthal of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges the defendants with making false statements to, and concealing material facts from, the National Futures Association (NFA). The complaint also charges Rosenthal with violating a prior CFTC order and acting as an unregistered commodity trading advisor (CTA).
Specifically, the CFTC alleges that from at least January 2002 to at least August 2010, and in the course of three separate NFA audits, Bedick, while acting on behalf of Angus Jackson, willfully concealed material facts from, and made false statements to, the NFA about a business relationship that Angus Jackson maintained with Rosenthal. According to the complaint, Rosenthal acted as an unregistered CTA and received compensation from Angus Jackson, which was paid to Rosenthal or to Rosenthal’s company, Jarma Trading, Inc., under the guise that the payments were made for developing and providing trading systems, software, and computer services.
In addition, Rosenthal allegedly aided and abetted Bedick’s alleged false statements to the NFA by manufacturing fraudulent invoices purporting to show expenses incurred by Jarma that were in fact compensation paid to Rosenthal for trading client accounts.
The complaint further alleges that, from approximately January 2000 to at least December 2008, Rosenthal traded futures and options for his clients at Angus Jackson, while failing to register as a CTA and in violation of a trading prohibition for failing to comply with a CFTC order. Rosenthal is prohibited from trading on registered entities because he failed to pay a 1988 CFTC reparations award in an action that became a CFTC order.