Fort Worth, TX – Agridime LLC, a Texas-based firm, and its co-founders, Joshua Link and Jed Wood, have been penalized for operating a $102.9 million Ponzi scheme targeting investors in cattle contracts, according to a judgment entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought the enforcement action, alleging the defendants defrauded customers by misappropriating funds.
The court’s final consent order requires Agridime LLC, currently in receivership, to pay $102,936,904 in restitution to defrauded customers. The order permanently bans Agridime from engaging in activities that violate the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as well as prohibiting it from registering with the CFTC or soliciting trades in regulated markets. The restitution will be distributed through the receiver appointed in a parallel Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against Agridime.
In addition to the firm’s penalties, the court issued default judgments against Joshua Link and Jed Wood, Agridime’s co-founders. Link is ordered to pay $815,327.92 in disgorgement, while Wood must pay $1,472,127.92. These amounts represent the personal gains they received through the fraudulent scheme, including undisclosed commissions. Both Link and Wood are permanently banned from violating CFTC regulations and are prohibited from trading or registering with the agency.
The CFTC’s complaint, filed in May 2024, detailed how Agridime misrepresented the use of customer funds. Investors were led to believe their money would be exclusively used to purchase, raise, and feed cattle. However, the company failed to acquire enough cattle to meet its contractual obligations and instead used new investor funds to pay guaranteed profits to earlier investors – a classic hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. Millions of dollars in customer funds were also diverted to pay undisclosed commissions to Agridime personnel, including Link and Wood.
The CFTC cautioned that recovering funds for victims is not guaranteed, as the defendants may lack sufficient assets. The agency stated it will continue to pursue accountability and protect customers from fraudulent schemes. The investigation received assistance from the Fort Worth Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Securities Division.
Source: CFTC.gov
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