Quatloos! > Investment Fraud > FOREX Scams > Enforcement Actions > Archives > 2001

Press Release Archives
(2001)

December

• OHIO COMMODITY TRADER SETTLES POOL FRAUD ACTION; Consent Order with Government Regulator Finds that Defendant Jeffrey T. Bailey Committed Fraud By Diverting Investor Funds For His Own Use and Permanently Bars Him from Futures and Options Trading, 4592-01, December 20, 2001.

• REPUBLIC NEW YORK SECURITIES CORPORATION PAYS $5 MILLION CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY FOR MISLEADING INVESTORS IN COMMODITY FRAUD; CFTC Files and Settles Action Against Republic for Its Role in a Ponzi Scheme That Defrauded Investors World-Wide and Resulted in Losses of Over $700 Million, 4590-01, December 17, 2001.

November

• Commodity Trading Advisor Settles Government Fraud Charges; CFTC Orders Nicholas J. Nickolaou to Pay Restitution and Penalties For Fraudulently Soliciting the Public to Buy His "Wisdom of the Ages" Trading System, 4586-01, November 20, 2001.

• CFTC SEEKS TO SUSPEND OR RESTRICT REGISTRATION OF MIDLAND EURO, INC. OF CALIFORNIA; Midland Euro's Membership With the National Futures Association Was Recently Suspended, 4585-01, November 19, 2001.

• CFTC Issues Consumer Advisory Warning the Public About Commodity Scams Arising Out of The Tragic Events of September 11, 2001, 4584-01, November 13, 2001.

• CFTC SETTLES FRAUD CASE AGAINST COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS; CFTC Finds that Currency Trading Systems, its President, Joyce Roeder, and Others Fraudulently Solicited the Public to Attend Commodity Trading Seminars; CFTC Imposes Permanent Trading Ban on Roeder and Company and Orders Payment of Restitution and Penalties, 4583-01, November 6, 2001.

October

• New York Trader Sued for Defrauding Employer; CFTC Files and Settles Action Against Robert Ryan and Permanently Bans Him from Futures Trading and Fines Him $40,000, 4580-01, October 31, 2001.

• Two Texas Men Sued for Defrauding Former Employer; CFTC Charges Clay Krhovjak and Paul Cochran in Fraudulent Allocation Scheme, 4577-01, October 29, 2001.

• CFTC Request Relating to Information pertaining to the Terrorist Attack

• COLORADO MAN BANNED FOR UNAUTHORIZED COMMODITY TRADING; CFTC Imposes Trading Ban on Dale Luther Mock, 4574-01, October 10, 2001.

• CFTC Charges Texas Commodity Broker with Fraud; CFTC Alleges that D. Michael Sheaves Fraudulently Omitted Significant Trading Losses, 4573-01, October 1, 2001.

September

• CFTC Requests Records Search by Futures-Related Entities Following Attacks, 4572-01, September 28, 2001.

• GEORGIA INTERNET PROMOTERS CHARGED WITH COMMODITY FRAUD; CFTC Alleges that George Heffernan and Ellery Coleman Made False Claims Concerning Profits Generated by Commodity Trading Systems; Defendants Also Alleged to Have Violated CFTC Orders Issued Against Them in September and May 2000, 4568-01, September 17, 2001.

• Iowa Commodities Speculator Settles Government Charges; CFTC Bans Frederick Mersch From Trading For Two Years For False Reporting and Exceeding Trading Limits on Frozen Pork Belly Futures, 4566-01, September 4, 2001.

• Canadian Resident and His Offshore Company Charged with Defrauding U.S. and Canadian Investors Through A Commodity Scam; CFTC Alleges That Defendants Andrew Duncan and Aurum Society, Inc. Operated "Ponzi" Scheme and Fraudulently Obtained Over $3 Million from Customers; Defendants also Alleged to have Misappropriated Funds, 4565-01, September 5, 2001.

• CFTC Charges Los Angeles Commodity Broker with Fraud; CFTC Alleges that Broker Alfred Gladstone Fraudulently Claimed That He Made Millions In Profits When In Fact, His Customers Had Net Losses Of Over $1 Million; Although 99% Of His Customers Lost Money, Broker Told Them That Their Investments Were "a Sure Bet", 4564-01, September 4, 2001.

August

• CFTC's Latest Action Part of Nationwide Crackdown on Foreign Currency (Forex) Scams; Complaint Charges Defendants with Defrauding U.S. and Canadian Citizens; Telemarketers Used High-Pressure Sales Tactics to Solicit Customers, 4563-01, August 28, 2001.

• Georgia Defendants Settle Commodity Fraud Charges; CFTC Permanently Bans James E. Stephens, III, and Trendsystems, Inc. from Trading on Behalf of Others, 4562-01, August 28, 2001.

• Avista Energy, Inc. Ordered to Pay $2.1 Million to Settle CFTC Charges of Manipulating Electricity Futures; Former Company Officers and Employees and NYMEX Floor Broker also Charged with Manipulation, 4555-01, August 21, 2001.

• CFTC Files Enforcement Action Charging Two Chicago Firms and Resident with a Failure to Supervise Foreign Accounts; CFTC Files Complaint Against Excellent USA And John Gallwas and Accepts Settlement Offer From LFG, 4553-01, August 20, 2001.

• CFTC Settles Fraud Action Against COMEX Floor Broker Vincent Coppola, 4552-01, August 16, 2001.

• CFTC Files Enforcement Actions Against Los Angeles-Based Firms Selling Illegal Foreign Currency (FOREX) Investments to the Retail Public; Acro Information Service, Inc., Pakco Holdings Limited and Dr. Florentius Chan Charged with Committing Fraud; Acro's Customers were Members of Asian and Other Ethnic Communities; In the Second Action, Fintrex, Inc., Arman Ovsepyan, and Lytresse Fox Are Charged with Offering Illegal Off-Exchange Forex Futures Contracts, 4551-01, August 14, 2001.

• CFTC Charges Maryland Man and His Company With Defrauding 600 Investors in a Commodity Pool; CFTC Alleges That Defendants Peter Scott and R&W Capital Management, Inc. Fraudulently Solicited Over $2 Million from Investors and Misappropriated Investor Funds For Personal Use, 4549-01, August 7, 2001.

July

• CFTC Charges Chicago Area Residents with Fraudulent Promotion of Pork Belly Trading System; According to the Complaint, a Year's Worth of Service Cost $4,500 and Ads Touted that Customers Could Have Made as Much as 700%, Release 4545-01, July 18, 2001.

• Colorado Man Sued for Failing to Tell Customers His Commodity Trading System was Based on Hypothetical Trades; Gramalegui Made False Claims that his Mother Profitably Traded with His System, Release 4544-01, July 12, 2001.

• CFTC Files and Settles Enforcement Action Against a Chicago Floor Broker for Failing to Supervise a Trader He Sponsored; CFTC Finds that Michael Thomas Lee Violated an Order and Sponsor Agreement and Suspends His Registration; Order Underscores Need For Sponsors To Take Duties Seriously, Release 4543-01, July 12, 2001.

• Former Member of New York Futures Exchange Charged with Price Manipulation and False Representations; CFTC Charges Norman Eisler and First West Trading with Manipulating Settlement Prices of Option Contract and Making False Representations, 4542-01, July 11, 2001.

• Minnesota and Wisconsin Defendants Barred from U.S. Futures Markets by Federal Court for Commodity Scam; Two Individuals and Three Companies Must Pay Up to $561,452 in Restitution and Up to $671,452 in Civil Fines, 4539-01, July 5, 2001.

• CFTC Settles Case Against Commodity Firm for Fraudulent Advertising; Federal Regulator Finds that CTS Financial Publishing and Others Used Over One Million Mailings and the Internet to Fraudulently Tout the Potential for Large Profits, 4538-01, July 5, 2001.

• CFTC Settles Case Against Kentucky Man For Fraudulently Selling Commodity Trading System; Federal Regulator Finds that Donald M. Fishback, Jr. Represented to Investors that his Company's Trading System Could "Virtually Eliminate Losing Trades", 4537-01, July 2, 2001.

June

• CFTC Files and Settles Fraud Action Against Commodity Trader Who Claimed to Make "A Killing," 4536-01, June 29, 2001.

• CFTC Participates in Second Annual International "Internet Surf" Day to Uncover Fraudulent Promotion of Commodity Schemes, 4535-01, June 27, 2001.

• CFTC Files Action Against California Resident for Violating Exchange Trading Limits; CFTC Alleges that Andy Saberi Violated the Trading Limits For Pork Belly Futures Set by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 4533-01, June 26, 2001.

• Maine Resident Charged with Defrauding Over 200 Investors; CFTC Alleges that Edward W. Knipping and Time Traders, Inc. Fraudulently Operated a $5.9 Million Commodity Pool and Misappropriated Investor Funds, 4529-01, June 21, 2001.

• Ohio Commodity Companies Charged with Offering Phony Investments; CFTC Alleges that Two Ohio Firms-- International Monetary Group, Inc. and Currency Management Group, Inc.--and Three Ohio Residents - Anthony Dellarciprete, Emido Dellarciprete, and James Lemmon -- Fraudulently Solicited the Retail Public to Invest in Illegal Foreign Currency Options (FOREX) 4528-01, June 20, 2001.

• CFTC Charges Florida Commodity Firm with Fraud; CFTC Alleges That First Investors Group of the Palm Beaches Used Fraudulent Infomercial and Sales Pitches To Solicit Customers, 4527-01, June 19, 2001.

• CFTC Charges LA Commodity Firm with Fraud; CFTC Alleges That Madison Financial Group Told Salesmen To "Make Up A Story" To Solicit Customers, 4523-01, June 6, 2001.

• Floor Broker - Michael H. Varner - Charged with Violating a 1999 CFTC Order, 4522-01, June 4, 2001.

May

• WISCONSIN RESIDENT MICHAEL JAMES KONKEL BARRED FROM TRADING COMMODITY INVESTMENTS IN CFTC FRAUD CASE; Alabama Federal Court Requires Defendant Konkel to Make Restitution of $790,000 to Defrauded Investors and Pay a Civil Fine of Up to $440,000 and Bars Him From Registering with the CFTC, 4518-01, May 22, 2001.

• CFTC FILES ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS AGAINST FIRMS FRAUDULENTLY SELLING ILLEGAL FOREIGN CURRENCY (FOREX) OPTIONS; In Two Separate Actions, CFTC Charges (1) the ICS Common Enterprise (three Florida companies) and Three Individuals - Valentin Fernandez, Daniel Phillips, and Manny Kavekos of Florida; and (2) Infinite Trading Group, L.L.C., a Georgia Forex Firm, along with Shawn Christie, Edward Cameron Lindsey and Anthony Garcia of Georgia, 4513-01, May 2, 2001.

April

• CFTC SETTLES FRAUD ACTION AGAINST COMEX FLOOR BROKER TIMOTHY MURPHY, 4512-01, April 30, 2001.

• CFTC CHARGES SUNSTATE FX, INC. AND ULRICH GARBE OF BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, WITH FRAUD IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOLICITATION OF INVESTORS TO TRADE FOREIGN CURRENCY (FOREX) CONTRACTS; Complaint Alleges that SunState and Garbe Fraudulently Operated a Commodity Pool and Illegally Offered Foreign Currency Options to the Retail Public; Court Enters Ex Parte Restraining Order Against the Defendants on the Same Day the Complaint is Filed 4508-01, April 19, 2001.

• CFTC CHARGES JEFFREY T. BAILEY OF AMELIA, OHIO, AND JMK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. WITH COMMODITY POOL FRAUD, 4507-01, April 12, 2001.

• UTAH FEDERAL COURT ENTERS CONSENT ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION AGAINST MARK AND STEVE SCHENK FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN A FRAUDULENT COMMODITY POOL SCHEME; The Consent Order Requires Mark and Steve Schenk to Pay Restitution and Disgorgement and Permanently Bars Them From Trading Commodity Futures and Options For Others and From Seeking Registration with the CFTC, 4506-01, April 5, 2001.

• FLORIDA DISTRICT COURT ISSUES FINAL ORDER OF JUDGMENT AGAINST NATIONAL BULLION AND COIN, INC., CAPITAL CREDIT MANAGEMENT & FINANCE, INC., JOSEPH B. FLANIGAN, AND LAWRENCE COLMAN; Order Requires Defendants to Pay in Excess of $12 Million in Restitution and Civil Monetary Penalties in Case Involving the Fraudulent Marketing of Illegal Precious Metals Futures Contracts, 4504-01, April 4, 2001.

• CFTC SETTLES ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST ISAAC FLEYSHMAKHER FOR COMMODITY POOL FRAUD; CFTC Order Finds that Fleyshmakher Made Fraudulent Solicitations and Engaged in Unauthorized Trading and Misappropriation of Funds in Connection with His Operation of New Frontier and New Millennium Commodity Pools; Order Requires Him to Pay Restitution to Defrauded Investors, Among Other Sanctions, 4503-01, April 4, 2001.

March

• CFTC CHARGES JAMES SPENCER BROWN OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS WITH FRAUD AND VIOLATION OF A CFTC ORDER; Complaint Alleges that Brown Fraudulently Solicited Customers While Acting as an Unregistered Commodity Trading Advisor and Violated Registration and Disclosure Requirements, 4502-01, March 28, 2001.

• U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN CALIFORNIA ISSUES ORDER ENJOINING RABB SABIN AND ART SMITH FROM FRAUDULENTLY SOLICITING CUSTOMERS TO SUBSCRIBE TO WEBSITE THAT TOUTED THEIR PURPORTEDLY PROFITABLE COMMODITY OPTIONS TRADING METHODOLOGY; Defendants Are Ordered To Pay Restitution of Over $384,700 and Civil Monetary Penalties Totaling $100,000, 4499-01, March 20, 2001.

• FEDERAL COURT IN HAWAII PERMANENTLY ENJOINS DAVID T. MARANTETTE, III FROM COMMITTING COMMODITY FRAUD WHEN SOLICITING CUSTOMERS TO INVEST IN COMMODITY POOLS AND PURCHASE COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORY SERVICES; The Consent Order Imposes a Permanent Injunction and Trading Ban and Requires Marantette and his Company, Troubadour, Inc., to Make Restitution to Investors of Up to Approximately $2.25 Million, 4492-01, March 1, 2001.

February

• CFTC ACCEPTS SETTLEMENT OFFER OF FORMER BRANCH MANAGER DARRYL M. OSLER IN CASE INVOLVING THE FRAUDULENT SOLICITATION OF CUSTOMERS TO INVEST IN COMMODITY OPTIONS; Osler Agrees Never to Seek Registration or Exemption from Registration with the CFTC or Otherwise Engage in Activities Requiring Registration or Exemption from Registration, 4491-01, February 15, 2001.

• CFTC ISSUES TWO ADVISORIES ADDRESSING THE OFFERING OF FOREIGN CURRENCY (FOREX) TRADING OPPORTUNITIES TO THE RETAIL PUBLIC; CFTC Outlines New Forex Regulatory Scheme and Also Alerts the Public To Foreign Currency Scams, 4489-01, February 8, 2001.
  

• FEDERAL COURT ENTERS CONSENT ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION AGAINST ANTHONY HOLT FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT IN A FRAUDULENT COMMODITY POOL SCHEME; Holt is Permanently Barred from the Futures Industry and Agrees to Pay Civil Penalty, 4488-01, February 5, 2001.

January

• CFTC FILES ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS AGAINST FOUR COMEX FLOOR BROKERS, CHARGING THEM WITH FRAUDULENTLY EXECUTING GOLD OPTIONS TRADES, AMONG OTHER VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL COMMODITIES LAW; CFTC Accepts Offers of Settlement from Paul Merolla and Philip Selby and Files An Administrative Complaint Against Timothy Murphy and Vincent Coppola, 4487-01, January 10, 2001.

• CFTC FILES AND SETTLES ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST FORMER GRIFFIN TRADING COMPANY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, SCOTT N. SZACH; CFTC Finds that Szach Failed to Supervise Griffin's London Branch Office, Filed False Reports, and Committed Segregation and Recordkeeping Violations in Connection with His Unauthorized Trading, 4486-01, January 8, 2001.