SEC Charges Bosses of Fake Day-Trading Firm with Defrauding Novice Investors

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged two men behind a fake day-trading firm with pocketing over $1.4 million in deposits from hundreds of defrauded investors worldwide.

December has been a busy month for the US regulator, which earlier this week charged Mark Nordlicht and his firm for engaging in another fraudulent scheme in which Nordlicht inflated asset values and illicitly moved investor money to cover losses and Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term problems.

In its latest case, the SEC has alleged that Naris Chamroonrat of Thailand recruited US citizen Adam Plumer to help him lure investors to day-trade through an unregistered brokerage firm called Nonko Trading with promises of generous leverage, low trading commissions, and low minimum deposit requirements.

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According to the SEC, rather than using a live securities trading platform, Nonko Trading provided certain investors with training accounts that merely simulated the placement and execution of trade orders. When these investors sent funds to Nonko Trading and proceeded to place trade orders, they were never actually routed to the markets.

When these investors sent funds to Nonko Trading they were never actually routed to the markets.

The SEC further alleges that investor money was instead used to fund Chamroonrat’s personal expenses, pay Plumer and other associates, and make Ponzi-like Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term to investors who asked to close their accounts.

According to the SEC’s complaint, the scheme deliberately targeted investors who were inexperienced and more likely to place unprofitable trades, making them less likely to ask to withdraw funds from their accounts.

Joseph G. Sansone, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit, commented: “As alleged in our complaint, Chamroonrat defrauded investors in more than 30 countries by using a trading simulator to deceive them into believing they were involved in legitimate securities trading rather than victims of a $1.4 million fraud.”

The SEC is seeking injunctions and the repayment of fraudulent gains together with penalties. In a parallel action, the New Jersey District Attorney’s Office has announced criminal charges against Chamroonrat.