FRISCO, TX – Craig B. Poe, of Frisco, Texas, has been charged with forex fraud by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), officials announced September 30, 2010. The charges stem from a scheme involving false account statements and misrepresentations to customers of Total Call Group, Inc., also known as TPFX, Inc. and Power Play FX.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on September 29, 2010, Poe, along with Thomas Patrick Thurmond of San Antonio, Texas, allegedly solicited approximately $808,000 from at least four customers between early 2006 and October 2008. The funds were intended for off-exchange foreign currency (forex) trading.
The CFTC alleges that approximately $800,000 of the solicited funds were deposited into forex trading accounts held at Forex Capital Markets LLC. Thurmond is accused of making false claims to customers, including assertions that Poe had a four-year history of profitable forex trading and that Poe and Thurmond had personally invested over $1 million into Total Call Group.
By August 2008, the defendants reportedly sustained trading losses and incurred fees totaling roughly 90 percent of the account balances. However, these losses were not disclosed to customers. Instead, the defendants continued to solicit funds and ultimately lost almost all remaining capital by November 2008.
The complaint specifically alleges that Poe willfully fabricated and distributed false reports to customers from September through December 2008. These reports overstated profits, concealed losses, and misrepresented account balances, even after the trading accounts were liquidated on November 13, 2008.
The CFTC is seeking restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil monetary penalties in its continuing litigation against Poe and Total Call Group. The investigation was led by CFTC staff members Patrick M. Pericak, Daniel Jordan, Eugenia Vroustouris, Michael Loconte, Rick Glaser and Richard B. Wagner.
Source: CFTC.gov
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