MIAMI, FL – February 22, 2016 – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil enforcement action against Alexi Bethel, owner and president of North American Asset Management, LLC (NAAM), along with Steven Labadie, NAAM’s owner and managing director, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The charges stem from allegations of illegal, off-exchange precious metals transactions with retail customers.
According to the CFTC complaint, NAAM, operating out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, solicited customers via telephone between March 2012 and March 2013 to participate in leveraged, margined, or financed precious metals deals. The company allegedly collected $2,565,272 from at least 66 customers, generating $648,759.60 in commissions and fees. Bethel and Labadie are named as controlling persons liable for NAAM’s violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
The CFTC alleges that NAAM acted as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) by accepting customer funds and orders without registering with the agency, a violation of federal regulations. The transactions were deemed illegal under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which requires actual delivery of metals within 28 days for leveraged or financed transactions – a condition the CFTC claims was never met.
NAAM reportedly executed these transactions through other firms, including Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC, Lloyds Commodities, LLC, and AmeriFirst Management, LLC. The CFTC had previously pursued enforcement actions against these companies in 2012 and 2013, alleging similar off-exchange precious metals schemes and, in the cases of Hunter Wise and AmeriFirst, fraud. Courts have already issued rulings and orders in those related cases, including over $5 million in restitution and penalties against Lloyds and a finding that Hunter Wise lacked the metal it promised to deliver to customers.
The CFTC is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties against Bethel, Labadie, and NAAM. The specific amount of penalties will be determined by the court.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Orlando Pascual Jr., HIV Treatment Medicare Fraud, Miami FL, 2023 · Mississippi
- Juan A. Tony Marrero, Medicare Fraud Scheme, Miami FL, 2023 · Texas
- Juan A. Tony Marrero, Medicare Fraud Scheme, Miami FL, 2024 · Florida
- Alton Plunkett, Tax Fraud, New York NY, 2023 · New York
- Letitia James, Tax Fraud and Bribery, New York 2023 · New York
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News