BULLETIN: CFTC Says California Man At Helm Of Ponzi Scheme Targeted At Deaf Christians; Marc Perlman Charged With Fraud Amid Claim He Advised Investor To Sell House Quickly And Plow Proceeds Into Forex Scheme

BULLETIN: The CFTC has gone to federal court in the Southern District of New York, alleging that Marc Perlman of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and his firm, iGlobal Strategic Management LLC, were running a commodity-pool and Forex Ponzi scheme targeted at deaf Christians.

Perlman and the company have been charged with fraud. The CFTC said the scheme sucked in “at least $670,000 from at least 17 people.”

In at least one instance, the CFTC charged, Perlman encouraged an investor “to sell a house at a price that would result in a quick sale, stating that the profits that the iGlobal Investor would earn with iGlobal would make up for the lost equity.”

It is at least the third major fraud scheme targeted at the deaf community since 2009. In October 2010, the SEC charged an entity known as Imperia Invest IBC in a caper that sucked in millions of dollars and affected thousands of people with hearing impairments. In 2009, the FTC charged Affiliate Strategies Inc. (ASI) in a government-grants scam. The Noobing autosurf was in the ASI stable of companies, and promotions were targeted at the deaf.

Both Imperia Invest and Noobing were promoted on the MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold Ponzi forums — the same venues from which Ponzi schemes such as AdSurfDaily and alleged Ponzi schemes such as Zeek Rewards were promoted.

“Perlman furthered his and iGlobal’s fraudulent scheme by playing upon the Christian faith of certain iGlobal investors, using claims about his own faith and references to scripture to obtain the trust of certain iGlobal investors,” the CFTC charged.

Victims hailed from Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Pennsylvania, the CFTC said, noting that Perlman is deaf.

“Perlman offered to have calls with certain potential iGlobal Investors through a video phone system that enables communication through sign language,” the CFTC charged. “During these calls, Perlman told certain potential iGlobal Investors that he was offering them the opportunity to invest in a forex investment system that would yield profits of 10 percent each month. He later revised this projected number to 5 percent after certain iGlobal Investors invested funds.”

The U.K. Financial Services Authority assisted in the CFTC probe, CFTC said.

Read the complaint.