ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Wants Whistleblower Help
Individuals May Submit Reward Claims
Information Can Lead To Investigation Even If Not Exact
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on January 27 that it settled fraud allegations against a commodity pool operator and its CEO for over $10 million and is rewarding individuals who provided original information that led to the enforcement and settlement.[1] THE CFTC polices commodity brokers, hedge funds and commodity pools such as the one in this case where an operator combines investments from numerous individuals to trade in futures contracts. The violations also constituted violations of US securities laws and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was also involved in resolution of the action. If you have credible information of any sort of commodity trading fraud (including investment pools, gold, futures, options, or virtual currencies like Bitcoins, for example) or other securities fraud call the CFTC and SEC whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. today at (415)441-8669.
In the reported case, the CFTC found a commodity pool operator liable for alleged misstatements of the pool’s risk, as well as its representation that a dedicated risk manager monitored the fund’s risk metrics daily, when in fact according to the CFTC the risk manager did not actually do so. In short, according to the CFTC, the fund operator led investors to believe that the fund was a safer investment than it actually was. Among other things, the CFTC complaint alleged that the operator falsely told investment advisors that he took specific steps to prevent the fund from losing more than 8 percent of its value, when in reality, according to the complaint, he failed to hedge in the manner he said he did, ultimately resulting in at least $500,000,000 of investor losses.
Investors and other insiders who provided original information of the alleged misrepresentations and fraud to the CFTC and SEC will be rewarded. The CFTC has paid out approximately $100 million in awards since its whistleblower program was created under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. If you have credible information of gold, commodities, securities, banking, or tax fraud in California call the Evans Law Firm whistleblower attorneys today at (415)441-8669 and we can help. Our whistleblower attorneys represent whistleblowers in CFTC cases, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cases for securities fraud (related to stocks, bonds, private placements and variable annuities for example), banking fraud under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cases for tax fraud, particularly offshore tax avoidance schemes, and False Claims Act cases against corporations defrauding the government for payments or reimbursements. The government keeps whistleblower identity confidential as long as possible under the law and whistleblower laws protect whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers. Our lawyers represent whistleblowers in their underlying
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If you have information regarding a whistleblower/qui tam case in San Francisco or elsewhere in California involving the Commodities Futures Trading Commission Whistleblower Program, the Securities and Exchange Commission Whistleblower Program, False Claims Act cases, the Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office, banking fraud under the Financial Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA), or other illegal activity, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other California whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We also handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
