Florida Serves Up Another Bizarre One: CFTC Files Emergency Action To Halt Alleged Ponzi Scheme; David L. Ortiz Charged Amid Allegations ‘Holistic’ Health Firm Was Collecting Forex Funds

A Florida man who operated a website known as “Forex Futures Trader” to drive business to his Ponzi scheme has been sued for fraud in an emergency action, the CFTC said.

Some of the cash was routed through a firm that continued to do business despite the fact it was dissolved by the state in 2005, the CFTC said. At the same time, the agency alleged, customers were told to send money to a firm in the holistic health business, not in the Forex business.

Named defendants were David L. Ortiz of Vero Beach, Goyep International Inc. of Vero Beach, and Royal Returns Inc. of Hollywood. Neither Ortiz nor the firms was registered with the CFTC, and a federal judge has frozen their assets, the agency said.

Royal Returns was “involuntarily dissolved” by the state of Florida in 2005 after being operational for less than a year, but continued to do business after the dissolution, the CFTC said.

In May 2008, after Royal Returns had been dissolved for nearly three years, it began soliciting money for a Forex program, the CFTC said. Despite advertising the Forex program, Ortiz told some customers to send their money to a company known as Natural Health Matters LLC, which purported to be in the business of “holistic health care and freelance services.”

Natural Health Matters has been named a relief defendant in the case because it allegedly received ill-gotten gains. Loredana Ortiz also was named a relief defendant.

At least 10 investors plowed at least $420,000 into the scheme, which the CFTC described as a Ponzi in which at least $232,000 was misappropriated for things such as shopping trips, travel, resort hotels, restaurants, utility bills, car payments and making payments on personal credit cards.

Investors were lured by promises of guaranteed returns of 10 percent a month, the CFTC said.

One customer tried to close her account and be reimbursed in August 2009, but met resistance from David Ortiz, who explained reimbursement was not possible “due to multiple factors beyond his control,” the CFTC charged.

Ortiz then ignored the woman’s “repeated” emails and calls for weeks, but eventually sent her a bad check. After that, the CFTC said, Ortiz “wired a refund to this customer from funds from another investor.”

Another customer was paid purported “profits” on his investment, but the funds came from the man’s own investment principal, the CFTC alleged.

Other customers falsely were told not to withdraw principal or profits because doing so “would result in significant trading losses due to a premature liquidation of open trading positions,” the CFTC alleged.

Ortiz also told a lie that he was registered with the SEC and had 30 years’ investment experience, the CFTC said.

In reality, Ortiz had no SEC registration, had traded Forex for less than three years, had a record of futility — and covered up his losses by providing bogus statements to customers, the CFTC said.

Read the CFTC complaint.

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6 Responses to “Florida Serves Up Another Bizarre One: CFTC Files Emergency Action To Halt Alleged Ponzi Scheme; David L. Ortiz Charged Amid Allegations ‘Holistic’ Health Firm Was Collecting Forex Funds”

  1. Loredana Ortiz also was named a relief defendant.

    Is “Loredana” a common name? I don’t think it is. Could this be the same person?
    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/loredana-longo/1a/221/845
    “Loredana Longo” claims to be located in “Rochester, United Kingdom” (it’s in Kent, I went there once a very long time ago.)
    Was with Royal Returns, Inc January 2003 – May 2008, then Goyep International July 2008 – Present.

  2. Very interesting, Tony.

    Patrick

  3. There is an “Antonia Longo” who has “Loredana L Ortiz” listed as a contact.
    http://www.reunion.com/antonialongo/

  4. Curious.

    Loredana Ortiz

    http://www.loredanaortizhhp.com/aboutus.htm

    is the spitting image of Loredana Longo

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/loredana-longo/1a/221/845

    Pretty girl but a little careless with what she leaves lying around on the internet.

  5. Twins maybe? LOL!

  6. Pretty and careless twins.LOL