The defendants also mislead customers that their earnings would increase based on the amount of their deposits. The clients were also falsely promised a bonus for referring others, in the form of a multi-level marketing scheme. The defendants caused misleading trading statements to be posted online to conceal their fraud. The CFTC stated that the…
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The CFTC claims that the Cartu and Peretz brothers directed individual brokers to solicit US customers with falsely represented financial expertise, compensation structure, physical location and identity. The brokers also mislead their customers that the offered binary option transactions were profitable, when in reality, the majority of customers lost money. Ryan Masten of Austin, Texas…
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CFTC’s complaint states that all of Long Leaf’s customers lost money in “Time Means Money” trading program. Over 400 customers lost approximately $6.1 million, while the company made $4.4 million from commissions. The Commission seeks restitution for the defrauded customers, return of the gains, monetary penalties and permanent trading ban. CFTC settled charges against Gecas…
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Justin Jeffries, Associate Regional Director for the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office said: Far too often, veterans and seniors who depend on their investments for retirement income are targeted by fraudulent schemes. As alleged in our complaint, Stow took advantage of these seniors, abusing his access to their brokerage accounts to generate income for himself. The…
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Paul Levenson, Director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office commented: Microcap stocks can be particularly vulnerable to manipulative schemes, and investors should be alert to the heightened risks that exist during this national emergency. The SEC will continue to act quickly to protect investors from investment scams, including those seeking to capitalize on the COVID-19…
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The CFTC also filed civil enforcement action against Erik J. Hass and his company Simply Gains Inc. on charges of fraud, misappropriation and failing to register with the CFTC. The defendants solicited at least $2.1 million from at least 21 individuals to fund their forex commodity pool operation. Despite assurances that they could not lose…
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The Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ann Linde has urged Ukraine to take action against the alleged cryptocurrency fraud operation targeting vulnerable inexperienced investors in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and UK. Swedish national newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) exposed the so-called “fraud factory”, operating from Kyiev after investigation. Ukraine-based Milton Group allegedly defrauded investors by offering…
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced yesterday that it settled charges against actor Steven Seagal for not disclosing payments he received for promoting investments in an initial coin offering (ICO) by Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G). SEC found that the 69-year-old actor failed to disclose the amount $250,000 in cash and $750,000 worth of B2G tokens he…
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against an Ohio-based businessman who set up a digital asset scam defrauding around 150 investors, among which many physicians. Michael W. Ackerman allegedly, along with two other businessmen, raised at least $33 million from investors, claiming he developed a proprietary algorithm that traded in cryptocurrencies and generated…
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Monetary Authority Of Singapore (MAS) has announced that Joseph Chai Ming Leong was earlier today convicted and sentenced to 4 weeks’ imprisonment for furnishing a false statement to Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited (SGX-DT). Chai was charged alongside Jimmy Ng Kian Bin and Erik Ng Song Hann to furnish a false statement to SGX-DT back…
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