CFTC Obtains Asset Freeze against Keith Simmons, Deanna Salazar, Bryan Coats, Jonathan Davey and Their Companies, Charged in $35 Million Forex Ponzi

Washington, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it obtained a federal court order freezing the assets held by defendants Keith F. Simmons of West Jefferson, N.C., Bryan Coats of Clayton, N.C., Jonathan Davey of Newark, Ohio, and numerous corporate entities controlled by them. The order also prohibits the destruction of books and records and schedules a hearing on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction for February 23, 2011. Previously, on January 19, 2011, the court issued a consent order freezing the assets of defendants Deanna Salazar and Life Plus Group, LLC and relief defendant Lawrence Salazar.

The order stems from a CFTC complaint, filed on January 13, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, charging the defendants with fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of customer funds in connection with a Ponzi scheme involving foreign currency exchange (Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term) trading. The following corporate entities also are charged in the CFTC complaint: Black Diamond Capital Solutions, L.L.C., Black Diamond Holdings, L.L.C., Life Plus Group, L.L.C., Genesis Wealth Management, L.L.C., Divine Circulation Services, L.L.C., Safe Harbor Ventures, Inc., Safe Harbor Wealth Investments, Inc., Divine Stewardship, L.L.C., and Safe Harbor Wealth, Inc.

The CFTC complaint alleges that, from at least April 2007, the defendants orchestrated a $35 million Ponzi-style fraudulent scheme, soliciting the funds from at least 240 individuals to invest in off-exchange forex through a purported Black Diamond Trading Platform Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real Read this Term. In their solicitations, the defendants allegedly fraudulently represented that (1) Black Diamond had a three-year history of highly successful forex trading and consistently earned positive returns averaging more than four percent monthly, (2) the Black Diamond trading was based on an advisory system created by qualified platform developers, (3) the risks of trading forex through Black Diamond were limited and (4) sufficient funds were available to be returned to customers upon request. However, no forex trading was ever conducted through the Black Diamond trading platform, and the Black Diamond trading platform never existed, according to the complaint.

Read the rest here and check out the full Complaint against Keith Simmons, Order: Keith F. Simmons, Bryan Coats and Jonathan Davey and Consent Order: Deanna Salazar, Life plus Group, LLC and Lawrence Salazar.