The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently issued an Order filing and settling charges against two Boca Raton, Fla., companies, Joseph Glenn Commodities LLC (Joseph Glenn) and JGCF LLC (JGCF), and their sole owners and principals, Scott Newcom and Anthony Pulieri (the Respondents) for engaging in illegal, fraudulent off-exchange financed transactions in precious metals with retail customers.

The CFTC Order, filed on March 27, 2013, requires Joseph Glenn, JGCF, Newcom, and Pulieri to pay approximately $635,000 in restitution to customers for their losses and to return approximately $330,000 remaining in customers’ accounts. The Order requires Pulieri to pay a civil monetary penalty of $100,000. The Order also permanently prohibits the Respondents from registering with the CFTC and imposes a five-year trading ban on trading for others. In addition, the Order prohibits the Respondents from violating the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged, and requires them to comply with certain undertakings, including fully and expeditiously cooperating with the CFTC.

The Illegal and Fraudulent Transactions

The CFTC Order finds that from July 2011 through June 2012, the Respondents solicited retail customers, generally by telephone or through Joseph Glenn’s website, to buy physical precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, platinum, or palladium in what are known as off-exchange leverage transactions. According to the Order, the customers paid the Respondents a portion of the purchase price for the metals, and Joseph Glenn and JGCF purportedly financed the remainder of the purchase price, while charging the customers interest on the amount they purportedly loaned to customers.

The CFTC Order states that such financed off-exchange transactions with retail customers have been illegal since July 16, 2011, when certain amendments of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) became effective. As explained in the Order, financed transactions in commodities with retail customers like those engaged in by the Respondents must be executed on, or subject to, the rules of an exchange approved by the CFTC. Since the Respondents’ transactions were done off-exchange with retail customers, they were illegal.

Furthermore, the CFTC Order states that when Joseph Glenn and JGCF engaged in these illegal transactions they were acting as dealers for a metals merchant called Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC (Hunter Wise), which the CFTC charged with fraud and other violations in federal court in Florida on December 5, 2012 (see CFTC Press Release 6447-12). Hunter Wise was purportedly Joseph Glenn’s and JGCF’s source for the metal and the loans. As alleged in the CFTC Complaint against Hunter Wise and according to the CFTC Order in this case, however, neither Joseph Glenn, JGCF, nor Hunter Wise purchased or held metal on the customers’ behalf, or disbursed any funds to finance the remaining balance of the purchase price. The Order finds that the Respondents’ customers thus never owned, possessed, or received title to the physical commodities that they believed they purchased.

The Order also finds that the Respondents defrauded their customers by misrepresenting the profitability of the financed off-exchange transactions and failing to disclose associated commissions, service, and interest fees.

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With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

As a follow up to our recent post concerning the above referenced matter, the Court on February 25, 2013 followed its Order Appointing Special Corporate Monitor of February 22, 2013, by issuing its Order on Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which granted the same as more fully referenced in the below link.

Interestingly, the Court provided a brief discussion concerning the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with the most recent expansion of that jurisdiction being that contained in Section 742 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which granted the CFTC new authority over certain leveraged, margined, or financed commodity transactions with retail customers, including the authority to prohibit fraud in connection with such transactions in interstate commerce. This decision is extremely important for retail customers purchasing and selling precious metals with the use of leverage.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

CFTC Charges Hunter Wise Commodities, Lloyds Commodities, C.D. Hopkins Financial, United States Capital Trust, Newbridge Alliance, Blackstone Metals Group, and their Principals in Multi-Million Dollar Fraudulent Precious Metals Scheme

CFTC alleges that defendants conducted illegal, off-exchange commodity transactions, and deceived customers in connection with financed transactions in precious metals

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that on December 5, 2012, it filed a civil injunctive enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC; Hunter Wise Services, LLC; Hunter Wise Credit, LLC; Hunter Wise Trading, LLC; Lloyds Commodities, LLC; Lloyds Commodities Credit Company, LLC; Lloyds Services, LLC; C.D. Hopkins Financial, LLC; Hard Asset Lending Group, LLC; Blackstone Metals Group, LLC; Newbridge Alliance, Inc.; United States Capital Trust, LLC; Harold Edward Martin, Jr.; Fred Jager; James Burbage; Frank Gaudino; Baris Keser; Chadewick Hopkins; John King; and David A. Moore. The complaint charges these entities and individuals with fraudulently marketing illegal, off-exchange retail commodity contracts. The complaint alleges that Hunter Wise Commodities, the orchestrator of the fraud, has taken in at least $46 million in customer funds since July 2011.

According to the CFTC complaint, the defendants claim to sell physical metals, including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and copper, to retail customers in retail commodity transactions. Under the defendants’ retail commodity transactions investment contract, customers allegedly make a down payment on certain quantities of physical metals, usually 25 percent of the total purchase price. Defendants allegedly claim to arrange loans for the balance of the purchase price, and advise customers that their physical metals will be stored in a secure depository.

The complaint further alleges that these statements were false, and that the defendants do not purchase any physical metals, arrange loans for their customers to purchase physical metals, or arrange for storage of physical metals for any customers participating in their retail commodity transactions. Instead, all the transactions are just paper transactions, according to the complaint. Defendants allegedly do not own or sell metals to customers; customers are charged storage and insurance fees on metals that do not exist; and are charged interest on loans, which are never made by the defendants.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) of 2010 expanded the CFTC’s jurisdiction over transactions like these, and requires that such transactions be executed on or subject to the rules of a board of trade, exchange or commodity market, according to the complaint. This new requirement took effect on July 16, 2011. The complaint alleges that all of the defendants’ financed commodity transactions after July 16, 2011, were illegal. The complaint also alleges that the defendants defrauded customers in all of these financed commodity transactions.

David Meister, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement stated: “Here is a prime example of how the Dodd-Frank Act provided the Commission with additional strong authority to go after wrong-doers, such as, as alleged in the complaint, individuals who prey on people looking to make retail investments in commodities like gold and silver. We will use this new authority to the fullest extent possible.”

In January 2012 the CFTC issued a Consumer Fraud Advisory (see Advisory under Related Links) regarding precious metals fraud, saying that it had seen an increase in the number of companies offering customers the opportunity to buy or invest in precious metals. The CFTC’s Consumer Fraud Advisory specifically warned that frequently companies do not purchase any physical metals for the customer, instead simply keeping the customer’s funds. The Consumer Fraud Advisory further cautioned consumers that leveraged commodity transactions are unlawful unless executed on a regulated exchange.

In its continuing litigation against the defendants, the CFTC is seeking preliminary and permanent civil injunctions in addition to other remedial relief, including restitution to customers.

Contact Us:

With extensive courtroom, arbitration and mediation experience and an in-depth understanding of securities law, our firm provides all of our clients with the personal service they deserve. Handling cases worth $25,000 or more, we represent clients throughout Florida and across the United States, as well as for foreign individuals that invested in U.S. banks or brokerage firms. Contact us to arrange your free initial consultation.

At the Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Russell L. Forkey, we represent clients throughout South and Central Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray, Boynton Beach, Hollywood, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Manalapan, Jupiter, Gulf Stream, Wellington, Fort Pierce, Stuart, Palm City, Jupiter, Miami, Orlando, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Cocoa Beach, Vero Beach, Daytona Beach, Deland, New Smyrna Beach, Ormand Beach, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Dade County, Orange County, Seminole County, Martin County, Brevard County, Indian River County, Volusia County and Monroe County, Florida. The law office of Russell L. Forkey also represents South American, Canadian and other foreign residents that do business with U.S. financial institutions, investment advisors, brokerage and precious metal firms.

Federal court enters emergency order freezing defendant’s assets and protecting books and records

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that on September 11, 2012, Judge James D. Whittemore of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered an emergency order freezing the assets of defendant William Jeffery Chandler of Ft Myers, Fla. The court’s order also prohibits Chandler from destroying or altering books and records. The judge set a hearing on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction for September 26, 2012.

The court’s order arises out of a civil enforcement action filed by the CFTC on September 10, 2012, charging Chandler with foreign currency (forex) fraud and misappropriation. Chandler has never been registered with the CFTC in any capacity, according to the complaint.

The CFTC complaint alleges that, since at least July 2010, and continuing to the present, Chandler has solicited at least six individuals to contribute at least $773,100 to a pooled account to trade off-exchange forex contracts in Chandler’s account at Dukascopy Bank SA, a Switzerland-domiciled bank. To entice prospective pool participants to invest, Chandler allegedly guaranteed a two percent to 12.5 percent monthly return on participants’ principal.

However, according to the complaint, Chandler’s Dukascopy Bank account was closed on or about July 15, 2011, due to changes in U.S. regulations. The Dukascopy Bank account was transferred to Alpari US LLC, a U.S.-based registered Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer, on August 8, 2011, according to the complaint. At that time, the pooled account allegedly had a balance of only $292.49, far less than the amount contributed by pool participants.

Chandler allegedly continues to solicit and receive funds from pool participants to trade in his Dukascopy Bank account, even after it had closed, and continues to represent to pool participants that their funds remain in the pool in his Dukascopy Bank account. Although Chandler has received requests from many pool participants to return their funds, he refuses to refund participant’s principal, instead asserting a litany of fabricated excuses, according to the complaint. Chandler has misappropriated the vast majority of the pool’s funds for his personal use, the complaint charges.

Furthermore, pool participants received statements from a purported accounting firm named A.R. Watkins; however, upon information and belief, A.R. Watkins is a fictitious entity controlled by Chandler, according to the complaint.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks civil monetary penalties, restitution, rescission, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, trading and registration bans, and preliminary and permanent injunctions against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as charged.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a judgment for $5.5 million in restitution and civil monetary penalties against Claudio Aliaga and CMA Capital Management, LLC (CMA), of Miami Lakes, Florida, to settle an action charging defendants with operating a Ponzi scheme involving the fraudulent solicitation of at least $4.5 million from at least 125 individuals to invest in foreign currency (forex) managed accounts and/or a pooled investment.

On September 26, 2012, Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered a consent order of permanent injunction against defendants. Specifically, the order requires the defendants to jointly pay restitution of $1.1 million, Aliaga to pay a civil monetary penalty of $3.3 million, and CMA to pay a civil monetary penalty of $1.1 million. The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants.

The order finds that from at least March 2007 through April 6, 2010, the defendants fraudulently solicited and received at least $4.5 million from retail customers and that only approximately $1.9 million in customer funds was transferred into forex trading accounts; that Aliaga’s trading resulted in overall losses of approximately $673,000; that Aliaga misappropriated customer funds for the benefit of himself, his wife, and another related business entity; and that to conceal the fraud, Aliaga issued false account statements to customers reflecting the promised returns based on his purportedly successful trading of foreign currency contracts.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a federal court order requiring Martin B. Rosenthal of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to pay a civil monetary penalty of $598,000 and disgorgement of $598,000 for aiding and abetting the willful concealment of material facts and the making of false statements to the National Futures Association (NFA), violating a previous CFTC order, and acting as an unregistered Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against Rosenthal and permanently prohibits him from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

The consent order for permanent injunction, entered on September 27, 2012, by Judge James I. Cohn of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, stems from a CFTC complaint filed on March 12, 2012.

The order finds that Rosenthal aided and abetted the willful concealment of material facts and the making of false statements to the NFA about a business relationship that Angus Jackson of Florida maintained with Rosenthal, by creating fake invoices purporting to show consulting expenses incurred by Rosenthal’s company that were, in fact, compensation paid to Rosenthal for trading client accounts.

Additionally, the order finds 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 previous CFTC order. An earlier CFTC order prohibited Rosenthal from trading on registered entities because he failed to pay a 1988 CFTC reparations award.

In a related criminal proceeding, Hernandez sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a federal court order requiring defendants Oscar Hernandez of Miami, Fla., and Midway Trading Company, LLC (Midway) and Conquest Investment Group, Inc. (Conquest), both Florida companies owned and controlled by Hernandez, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges that they operated a multi-million dollar commodity pool Ponzi scheme and misappropriated customer funds for personal use.

The consent order of permanent injunction was entered on September 27, 2012, by Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants and permanently prohibits the defendants from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

Specifically, the order finds that, beginning in or about 2005 and continuing through about December 2008, the defendants fraudulently solicited over $3.8 million from pool participants by telling them that Hernandez had developed a risk-free commodity trading system that would guarantee annual returns of from 20 percent to 60 percent. Defendants misappropriated approximately $1 million of those funds to pay for personal expenses, including mortgages, luxury car payments, and American Express bills, the court’s order finds.

In a related criminal proceeding in November 2011, Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and commodities fraud. In March 2012, Hernandez was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to pool participants (U.S. v. Hernandez, 11-20686-CR-Lenard, S.D. Fla.).

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently obtained a federal court consent order of permanent injunction requiring defendants GlobeFX Club, Inc. (GFC) and Jeremy Munson Globe, both of Homestead, Fla., jointly and severally to pay a $350,000 civil monetary penalty for concealing material facts and making false statements or misrepresentations to the National Futures Association (NFA) during an investigation and audit.

The order, entered on October 4, 2012, by Judge Paul C. Huck of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants and permanently prohibits them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

The consent order stems from a CFTC complaint filed on March 17, 2011. The complaint charged that from February to March 2009, GFC, through Globe, made false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements to the NFA during an NFA investigation and audit of GFC. According to the order, Globe told the NFA that GFC had never operated a pool or managed client accounts. This statement by Globe was false, the order finds. Also, in written correspondence to the NFA and orally, Globe continually denied that GFC operated a commodity pool, received client funds, managed client accounts, or had a trading account in the name of the firm, and Globe claimed GFC’s disclosure document was approved by the NFA. These statements were also false, the order finds.

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.

March, 2012:

CFTC Revokes Registrations of Richard Allan Finger, Jr. and his Company, Black Diamond Futures, LLC Based on Criminal Action

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it filed a Notice of Intent to Revoke the Registrations (Notice) of Richard Allan Finger, Jr. (Finger), a resident of Washington State, and Black Diamond Futures, LLC (Black Diamond), a Washington State limited liability company. The CFTC simultaneously issued an Opinion and Order (Order) settling the action and revoking Black Diamond’s registration with the CFTC as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) and Finger’s registration as its sole Associated Person (AP).

The Notice alleged that, pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), Finger was subject to a statutory disqualification of his registration based upon his plea of guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 in the criminal action, United States v. Finger, Crim. Case No. 11-mj-424 (W.D. Wash.). The Notice further alleged that Black Diamond was subject to a statutory disqualification pursuant to the CEA because Finger was the sole principal of Black Diamond and Finger’s registration is subject to revocation.

The Notice alleged that in the criminal action, Finger admitted to certain facts, including that:

• From late 2009 to August 2011, Finger was a registered securities representative in Washington State;
• In approximately February 2011, Finger started his own broker-dealer, Black Diamond Securities LLC;
• In order to induce his existing investors to transfer their accounts to his new company, Finger fraudulently inflated the values of their accounts in statements he made to them;
• Thereafter, Finger churned the securities accounts of at least 10 of his investors, despite telling them that he would use a conservative investment strategy. For example, with respect to one investor, Finger’s churning reduced the value of the investor’s account from approximately $1 million to less than $225,000 within two months; and
• In order to conceal his churning, Finger emailed false account statements to his investors.

The CFTC’s Order accepting the offer of settlement in the statutory disqualification proceeding finds that Finger and Black Diamond are subject to statutory disqualification from registration with the CFTC pursuant to Sections 8a(2)(D)(iii) and (iv) and 8a(2)(H) of the CEA, respectively, and revokes their registrations.

March, 2012:

CFTC Charges Florida Resident Abraham Gutterman and His Companies, Alliance Capital Metals LLC and AR Goldman Wealth Management, LLC with Commodity Gold and Oil Options Fraud and Misappropriation

Defendants allegedly stole more than $480,000 from customers

Federal court enters emergency order freezing defendants’ assets and protecting books and records

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced the filing of a federal court action against Abraham Gutterman, Alliance Capital Metals LLC (ACM), and AR Goldman Wealth Management, LLC (ARGWM) (doing business as U.S. Principal Financial Services), all of South Florida, charging them with commodity options fraud and misappropriation.

On March 15, 2012, the same day the complaint was filed, Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entered an emergency order freezing the defendants’ assets. The order also prohibits the defendants from destroying or altering books and records. The judge set a hearing date for April 11, 2012.

The CFTC complaint alleges that from at least November 2009 to the present, the defendants fraudulently solicited and accepted at least $483,725 from at least 15 customers to trade gold and oil commodity options contracts. Defendants allegedly never disclosed to customers that their funds would be used for any purposes other than trading gold and oil options. Instead, the defendants misappropriated all of the customers’ funds, and spent the money on various personal expenses, including restaurants, gambling, entertainment, and retail purchases, according to the complaint.

The defendants allegedly lured customers using cold-calls, a website, and at least one face-to-face meeting in a bar in Hialeah, Fla. ACM and ARGWM allegedly used high pressure sales tactics, calling customers repeatedly and promising large profits to convince them to invest. Defendants did not provide customers with any documentation of their investments or account activity statements, and when one customer asked how his investment was doing, ACM and ARGWM advised him to watch the price of gold on business news television stations, according to the complaint.

Specifically, ACM and ARGWM, by and through their employees and agents, allegedly made the following misrepresentations and omissions of material fact to persuade customers to invest:

• customers would “make a killing” if they invested in commodity options through ACM and ARGWM;
• customers would make approximately $200,000 to $300,000 in less than three months with a $20,000 investment in gold options;
• the majority of ACM’s and ARGWM’s prior customers bought gold options in 20 contract lots and those customers’ investments had increased significantly;
• customers needed to “get in now” because the price of gold was about to rise from prices of approximately $1,700 to $1,800 per ounce to $2,500 per ounce;
• for every dollar the price per ounce of gold goes up, the customer’s options contracts would increase in value by $500 to $2,000; and
• gold options are a good investment for retirement savings and, after investing with ACM and ARGWM, the customer would have more than enough money to retire within just a few months.

Within a few months of investing, ACM and ARGWM allegedly advised customers that all their funds had been lost trading commodity options and the only way to recoup their investments was to invest additional funds. When customers requested that ACM and ARGWM sell their purported commodity options and return the balance of their funds, ACM and ARGWM allegedly refused and instead pressured customers not to sell their investments. No money was ever returned to the customers, according to the complaint.

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