CFTC

BULLETIN: With seven defendants already convicted of Ponzi-related crimes and a North Carolina bank accused of turning a blind eye to the fraud, four new criminal defendants have been named in the Black Diamond Capital Solutions probe. A federal grand jury in Charlotte has returned an indictment against Jonathan D. Davey, 47, of Newark, Ohio; […]

BULLETIN: The CFTC has gone to federal court in Texas, alleging that Christopher B. Cornett of the town of Buda was operating a Forex- pool fraud and misappropriation scheme that gathered more than $14 million in phases between June 2008 and October 2011. Cornett has been charged civilly with fraud, which allegedly operated through entities […]

Charles G. Martin has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison — and fellow Forex Ponzi schemer John E. Walsh has been sentenced to more than 12 years — in a case in which investors’ money went to pay for strippers, fine meals, fine hotels, a piano, high-end electronics, artwork, jewelry, flashy cars and […]

“I dont care what the CONSOB or whatever says because I am not an Italian.” — TalkGold poster known as “WallStreetIsAPonzi,” Jan. 28, 2012 Even as CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, is publishing an announcement on its website that promoters of a bizarre HYIP known as JSS Tripler are under investigation amid preposterous claims that […]

UPDATE: Jeffery (also cited as “Jeffrey”) L. Groendyke, the Michigan man ordered by a federal judge earlier this month to pay nearly $1.4 million in restitution and penalties in a Forex Ponzi case brought civilly by the CFTC, now has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of wire fraud, federal prosecutors in the Western District […]

Jeffery L. Groendyke, the Michigan man accused by the CFTC in May of targeting people of faith and others in a Forex Ponzi scheme, has been ordered to pay $963,141 in restitution and a $420,000 civil penalty. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker issued the order against Groendyke by consent, finding that he fraudulently solicited […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Although not reflected in the headline above, one of the alleged scammers referenced in a new case below — Nicholas Trimble of Colorado — is alleged to have targeted an alleged scammer in a months-old case: Jeffery Groendyke of Michigan. Details below.) URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: In Colorado, U.S. District Judge Philip […]

UPDATE: On the lam for 10 months, accused Ponzi-scheme fugitive Brian Kim was arrested last month and returned to the United States from Kong Kong, authorities said yesterday. Kim, 36, is a former analyst who appeared as a CNBC commentator on issues such as the Dubai debt crisis and so-called “dark pools.” Investigators said he […]

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina has ordered tens of millions of dollars in restitution, penalties and disgorgement in the civil Ponzi case against Sidney and Charlotte Hanson. The CFTC charged the North Carolina couple and their “Queen Shoals” companies in 2009, alleging a Forex Ponzi scheme […]

BULLETIN: Civil and criminal charges were filed in Florida today against Miami resident Oscar Hernandez, amid allegations he was operating a $3 million Ponzi scheme through Midway Trading Company LLC and Conquest Investment Group Inc., the CFTC said. The office of U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District Of Florida said Hernandez has […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: UPDATED 8:14 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has gone to federal courts in four different states and simultaneously filed actions against 11 separate companies in the second phase of an enforcement sweep. The firms, some of which conduct business offshore but allegedly use webhosting companies or other […]