Atlanta, GA – Arthur Toole III has been charged with misappropriating over $244,000 in commodity pool funds, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Friday. Toole, along with his companies Billionaire Investor Group (BIG), The Toole Group Inc., and Catalyst Traders LLC, faces penalties and a lifetime ban from commodity trading.
The CFTC alleges that from February 2011 through at least January 2016, Toole solicited over $375,000 from investors for three separate commodity pools, primarily trading Euro FX and E-Mini Dow futures contracts. Instead of utilizing the funds for trading purposes, Toole allegedly diverted $244,000 for personal and non-trading expenses, resulting in net losses of $293,141 for pool participants.
Investigators found that Toole misrepresented trading results and the total assets under management to investors. He also allegedly commingled funds from the three pools with his personal property, further obscuring the misuse of investor money. Despite operating pools with fewer than 15 participants, Toole failed to file the required exemption notice with the National Futures Association.
The CFTC order requires Toole and his companies, BIG, The Toole Group, and Catalyst Traders LLC, to jointly pay $293,141 in restitution to the defrauded investors, as well as a $200,000 civil monetary penalty. Furthermore, all respondents are permanently prohibited from engaging in any transactions involving commodity interests and are barred from registering with the CFTC in the future. They are also ordered to cease and desist from any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations.
The CFTC cautions that recovery of funds for victims is not guaranteed, as the wrongdoers may lack sufficient assets. The agency encourages anyone with information about potential commodity trading violations to contact the CFTC Division of Enforcement via toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC or submit a tip online.
W. Derek Shakabpa, Michael Cazakoff, David Acevedo, Lenel Hickson Jr., and Manal M. Sultan of the CFTC Division of Enforcement led the investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
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