The fraudster is found guilty of misappropriation, case against his company Financial Robotics continues
It is a frequent occurrence in our LeapRate Forex Fraud Watch series to cover hefty misappropriations, but it’s a rarity to see a single investor entrust a rather big chunk of money to a fraudulent solicitor. That’s precisely what happened in the case of Mark E. Rice who has successfully managed to convince a single investor to entrust him about $1.7 million.
A federal court order in Texas has mandated a sanction totaling $1.5 million against the defendant. The CFTC has filed a civil complaint back in June 2011 against Mark E. Rice and his company Financial Robotics. Assets of both parties have been frozen since then as the CFTC filing claimed fraudulent solicitation for off-exchange forex trading activities by the convicted fraudster and his company.
Rice claimed to his investor that his investment is “risk free” and reassured him that the investment is insured against loss. He proceeded to guarantee that the principal will be returned to the customer in any case. Instead what happened was a rather ruthless forex fraud scheme – Rice transferred more than half a million dollars to companies under his control.
The press release cites the CFTC thanking financial authorities in the British Virgin Islands, The Netherlands and the FCA, so our assumption is that the funds were transferred offshore. Rice spent at least $404,000 for personal and “business” expenses.
The costs? Well those as usual are way more than the benefits that the wrongdoer extracted – the fine consists of $827,000 in restitution and $673,000 for a civil monetary penalty. The case against the defendant’s company Financial Robotics is still ongoing. For the latest news surrounding forex fraud schemes stay tuned to LeapRate.
For the full press release visit CFTC’s website.
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