LAS VEGAS, NV – October 16, 2019 – David Gilbert Saffron, a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been charged with fraud by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in connection with an $11 million binary options scheme. The complaint, filed September 30, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, alleges Saffron and his company, Circle Society, Corp., engaged in fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation of funds, and registration violations.
According to the CFTC, from at least December 2017, Saffron fraudulently solicited at least $11 million in bitcoin and U.S. dollars from investors, promising to trade off-exchange binary options in forex and cryptocurrency. He allegedly claimed to possess expert trading skills and guaranteed returns of up to 300% to at least 14 members of the public who participated in a pool operated by Circle Society.
However, the CFTC alleges Saffron did not use the funds as promised. Instead, he misappropriated the money, retaining it in his personal cryptocurrency wallet and using it to pay earlier investors – effectively operating a Ponzi scheme. He then allegedly lied to participants to conceal the misappropriation.
On October 3, 2019, the court issued an ex parte order freezing assets under the defendants’ control and preserving relevant records. This restraining order was extended on October 11, 2019. A hearing on the Commission’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction is scheduled for October 29, 2019.
The CFTC is seeking full restitution for defrauded investors, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction against future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations. The agency cautions investors that restitution may not fully recover lost funds due to potential limitations in the defendants’ assets.
The CFTC collaborated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Securities Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office during the investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
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