The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on Friday that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has ordered two defendants to pay more than $2.7 million for their involvement in a foreign Exchange (Forex ) fraud scheme.
Last week, the court entered a default judgment against defendants Kevin Andre Perry and Lucrative Pips Corporation of Atlanta, Georgia. This was in relation to an enforcement action filed by the CFTC where the regulator accused the defendants of fraudulently soliciting and misappropriating nearly $700,000 from more than 50 people in an FX trading scheme.
Specifically, the court has ordered Perry and Lucrative Pips Corporation to pay $694,799 in restitution to defrauded clients and a civil monetary penalty of more than $2 million. Furthermore, the defendants are banned from registering with the commodities regulator and can no longer trade in any CFTC-regulated markets.
CFTC filed its case in 2018
According to the statement published by the commodities watchdog, the regulator initially filed its case against Perry and Lucrative Pips Corporation back in September of 2018. In the motion for default judgment, the CFTC presented evidence that Perry fraudulently solicited customers.
He did this by telling potential pool participants that the initial funds invested were “guaranteed” against trading losses. He also promised returns of up to 350 percent in less than 60 days, the CFTC said.
“When pool participants attempted to withdraw their funds at the end of their trading cycle, the defendants knowingly made false statements to explain why they could not return pool participants’ funds,” the statement said.
“The CFTC cautions victims that restitution orders may not result in the recovery of money lost, because wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.”
