Fraudsters solicited $2.3 million for forex trading from 11 individuals
The CFTC has issued a press release detailing their latest enforcement action against Ron Earl McCullough and David Christopher Mayhew. The complaint filed by the regulator alleges that both have fraudulently solicited about $2.3 million from 11 investors and have subsequently misappropriated $1.6 million of the obtained funds instead of using them to trade on the forex market. A related order has been issued to mandate Travis Maurice Cox penalties to settle fraud charges.
The party has managed to conduct their fraudulent scheme between December 2008 and January 2012 misinforming their investors about the risks that are commonly associated with trading on the foreign exchange markets. McCullough and Mayhew guaranteed the return of their investors’ principal and promised doubling of invested funds in pretty short periods of time.
According to the CFTC filing they have instead used some of their victims’ funds to repay other investors and falsely reported to their customers while in reality they used funds to cover personal expenses. The complaint states that Mayhew also produced false statements that have hidden the misappropriation, trading losses and lack of trading.
Both individuals are charged for misappropriating $808,000 to make repayments to their customers and some additional $829,000 for their own personal expenses, which included an online forex trading course and travel expenses.
Travis Maurice Cox has participated in the solicitation of about $1.3 million from five individuals, while claiming that McCullough and Mayhew have already made money for him. In addition he didn’t even transfer all funds to his partners, therefore misappropriating $114,000 for personal use. The order issued against him requires him to pay $1.3 million in restitution and a $330,000 civil monetary penalty.
For the full press release visit CFTC’s website.
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