Angel F. Collazo, formerly of Salinas, Puerto Rico, has been ordered to pay $843,444 in restitution and a $750,000 civil penalty for perpetrating a fraudulent foreign currency (forex) scheme. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a federal court consent order against Collazo, as well as his companies, ACJ Capital, Inc. and Solid View Capital LLC, both based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The charges stem from a complaint initially filed in February 2012, alleging that Collazo and his companies fraudulently solicited customers into an off-exchange leveraged forex pool. The CFTC found that Collazo minimized the risks associated with forex trading while falsely promising profitable returns. The investigation revealed that Collazo misappropriated funds from pool participants, using them for personal expenses and to make payments to other participants in a Ponzi-like fashion.
Furthermore, Collazo and his companies are accused of issuing false statements to conceal trading losses and the misappropriation of funds. These statements reportedly misrepresented account values, falsely indicating consistent profits to investors.
A second related order was also issued by the court against Fernando Clemente, of Weston, Florida, and his company, Felgi Investments Corp., of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Clemente and Felgi were found to have misappropriated $30,000 in customer funds and retained $120,933 in illegitimate profits, resulting in a combined penalty of $150,000 in restitution and civil penalties.
Both orders, entered by Judge Jose A. Fuste of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on February 13, 2013, and June 10, 2013, include permanent trading and registration bans for all defendants, prohibiting them from violating anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act. The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Puerto Rico in the investigation.
The case was led by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members Kara Mucha, James A. Garcia, Michael Solinsky, Gretchen L. Lowe, and Vincent A. McGonagle.
Source: CFTC.gov
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