Texas State Securities Board issued an emergency cease and desist order on Wednesday against David A. Grissom and Premier Concepts for allegedly running an unregistered Forex scheme. According to the press release, Travis J. Iles, the Securities Commissioner of the Texas State, accused Grissom of advertising a forex investment opportunity targeting Dallas residents, which do not have a license to operate legally.
The scheme, dubbed 'Premier Concepts', is being promoted through a Craiglist forum, claiming that it offers passive returns from the investment of up to 8% monthly, the authority said, who added that the individual advertises the opportunity as a safe a lucrative way to generate income. Moreover, the emergency cease and desist order states that Grissom promises returns as high as 80%.
“Representations that an investment is safe with guaranteed returns are investment characteristics requiring the utmost scrutiny by investors. These types of representations are a central component of myriad investment opportunities later found to be fraudulent,” Commissioner Iles commented. Furthermore, the scheme Premier Concepts claims to have collected almost $700,000 in funds.
However, the commissioner argues that the order issued against Grissom goes in line with the law. Neither he nor Premier Concepts are authorized to offer securities in Texas state or registered in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the National Futures Association (NFA). That said, the Texas State Securities Board accuses both Grissom and his scheme of “using fraudulent, misleading and deceptive practices to recruit new investors.”
Bogus Scheme Keeps Running despite Warnings
“According to the order, the parties thereafter acknowledged the applicability of the securities laws and agreed to remove their advertisement. Their acknowledgement was a sham. Although the parties appeared to cooperate and comply with the law, Grissom and Premier Concepts allegedly continued to illegally and fraudulently solicit investments in the Forex Trading program,” the press release said.
In May, Finance Magnates reported that CFTC filed charges against two commodity pool operators, LJM Partners Ltd and LJM Funds Management Ltd, which collectively operated as LJM, for alleged fraud and for releasing false statements about losses.
