MIAMI, FL – Alexi Bethel, owner and president of North American Asset Management, LLC (NAAM), along with managing director Steven Labadie, have been slapped with hefty penalties and trading bans for running a fraudulent precious metals scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today. Judge Jose E. Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered a consent order requiring NAAM, Bethel, and Labadie to jointly pay $648,759.60 in restitution and a $977,430.47 civil monetary penalty.
The case, initially filed by the CFTC in January 2016, alleges that NAAM engaged in illegal, off-exchange precious metals transactions with retail customers, offering leveraged, margined, or financed trades. Between March 2012 and at least March 2013, NAAM collected over $2.5 million from customers, pocketing more than $648,759.60 in commissions and fees. Crucially, the CFTC found that NAAM acted as an unregistered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM).
The scheme violated the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which prohibits such leveraged transactions unless actual delivery of the precious metals occurs within 28 days. The CFTC determined that no actual delivery ever took place for NAAM’s customers.
NAAM allegedly executed these illegal trades through third-party companies: Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC, Lloyds Commodities, LLC, and AmeriFirst Management, LLC. The CFTC has previously taken enforcement actions against all three of these entities, alleging similar off-exchange precious metals fraud. AmeriFirst was found liable and ordered to pay restitution in 2013, while Lloyds was penalized over $5 million in 2014.
In addition to the financial penalties, the consent order permanently bans NAAM, Bethel, and Labadie from engaging in any future trading or registration activities related to commodity futures. The CFTC continues to pursue enforcement actions against companies and individuals involved in illegal off-exchange precious metals schemes.
Source: CFTC.gov
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