BULLETIN: Idaho Man Allegedly Ran Forex Ponzi Scheme And Duped Investors With Fake Asset Freeze And Forged Documents Purporting To Be From CFTC Official And Judge; Brad Lee Demuzio Sued Civilly, Charged Criminally

BULLETIN: (UPDATED 4:14 P.M. EDT U.S.A. APRIL 14) The CFTC has gone to federal court in Idaho, alleging that Brad Lee Demuzio of Chubbuck was running a Forex Ponzi scheme that tanked.

Unable to make payouts, Demuzio “fabricated a letter purporting to be from the CFTC and bearing the fraudulently copied signature of a CFTC officer, which falsely represented that the company’s funds had been frozen in connection with a purported CFTC investigation,” the CFTC charged.

But Demuzio didn’t stop there, the agency charged.

“The complaint also alleges that Demuzio subsequently fabricated a second letter fraudulently providing an update as to the status of the purported investigation as well as a third document purporting to be a dismissal of the investigation and bearing the fraudulently copied signature of an Administrative Law Judge,” the agency charged.

Meanwhile, the CFTC alleged, the official seal of the Commission was used in the bid to cover up the fraud and Demuzio “attempted to pass these documents off to investors as official Commission documents.”

Chubbuck now has been indicted on five counts of wire fraud, the CFTC said, noting that the FBI was involved in the probe.

“On or about January 13, 2012, Demuzio confessed to an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he had knowingly made false statements to investors and fabricated Commission documents,” the CFTC said.

The scheme, which operated through an entity known as Demuzio Capital Management (DCM) and netted $1.8 million, began to unravel during the summer of 2011, when certain investors told Demuzio they wanted their capital outlays and purported profits back, the CFTC said.

Checks were issued to investors in August 2011, but the checks bounced, the CFTC said.

By Aug. 5, Demuzio said he could not pay because “the Commission had frozen DCM’s funds in the course of an investigation,” the agency said.

As part of the scheme, Demuzio manufactured a document addressed to himself, with a CFTC official as the purported sender.

This document falsely stated in part that “the CFTC has opened an investigation into your activities. This investigation requires the temporary freezing of your current assets. The investigation along with the freezing of your assets is intended to be temporary.”

By October, the CFTC alleged, Demuzio had manufactured another letter to himself that purportedly had originated at the agency, thanked him for his cooperation and suggested that a decision would be forthcoming.

Among other things, the bogus October letter asserted that “This letter is being sent to express our appreciation to you for your cooperation during the investigation . . . We are also writing to confirm to you that a letter of resolution will be sent to you no later than Friday October 14, 2011.”

By Oct. 11, a third bogus document surfaced. This one was styled “Order of Dismissal” and purported “to have been signed by a Commission Administrative Law Judge,” the agency said.

This document, the CFTC alleged, included this false statement:

“At the parties’ request, the complaint is DISMISSED with prejudice and this proceeding is TERMINATED in its entirety. IT IS SO ORDERED.”

Demuzio confessed to the FBI in a signed statement, the CFTC said.

“The first and most important mistake that I have made has been to lie to each of these individuals, all of whom are close friends and family,” the confession read in part, according to the CFTC. “I have lied to them about the money we made and how we made it.”

And Demuzio further confessed in his statement that he had “engaged in a series of lies that culminated in my making letter [sic] from the cftc showing that I could not return their money because of an investigation,” the CFTC said.