ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Oversees Options Trading
CFTC Finds Broker Defrauded 25,000 Customers
Fines Broker Over $13.8 Million
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on October 13, 2020 rdered a broker to pay over $13.8 million[1] in restitution, disgorged profits and civil penalties as the result of allegedly defrauding thousands of customers who opened binary options[2] trading accounts with the broker through unregistered online trading platforms. The CFTC rewards individuals with credible information of any kind of options trading fraud. See 7 U.S.C. § 26 et seq. If you have credible information of any kind of options trading fraud, whether in binary options or other options, call the CFTC whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. today at (415)441-8669 or toll free at (888)503-8267.
Fraudulent Marketing And Unregistered Brokers
As charged and found by the CFTC, the broker fraudulently solicited customers into opening and funding binary option accounts on websites operated by unregistered, off-exchange brokers while pitching free access to automated trading software that purported to generate significant profits with little to no risk of loss. Their marketing campaigns featured actors pretending to be actual owners or users of the trading software, and depicted fictitious trading results as real. The CFTC further found that defendants knew that the solicitations were false and misleading, that the software did not work as claimed, and that customers were unlikely to make a profit. The order also found that defendants failed to disclose that they received a fee from the binary options brokers they recommended every time a new account was opened and that this fee arrangement was their sole basis for recommending brokers.
CFTC Whistleblower Rewards
Any individual, including insiders, fraud victims, or other persons who provide information leading to successful CFTC enforcement actions may be eligible for a reward. See 17 C.F.R. § 165 et seq. (CFTC whistleblower rules). The CFTC posts Notices of Covered Actions for each Commission enforcement action where a final judgment or order results in monetary sanctions exceeding $1 million. Individuals who voluntarily provide the Commission with information that leads to the successful enforcement of a Covered Action are eligible to claim a whistleblower award.
Contact Us
Any kind of options, futures, commodities or virtual currency trading fraud, unregistered solicitations, or false advertising may constitute the basis of a whistleblower report to the CFTC. If you have credible information of that kind of fraud, call Ingrid M. Evans and the other CFTC whistleblower attorneys at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or toll free at (888)503-8267 or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We also represents whistleblowers in cases involving the False Claims Act, offshore tax avoidance schemes or other tax fraud before the Internal Revenue Service, and bank fraud under the Financial Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA/FIAFEA),
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in the case in any way.
[2] Binary options are financial options on whether a underlying asset will be above a certain price at a certain time. There are only two payoff options: the fixed amount of the option if the target is met, or if the target price of the underlying asset is not met, nothing at all.
