Dennis K. Thomas, Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, Florida 2022

Dennis K. Thomas and John J. Bartoletta, both Florida residents, are facing penalties for operating an unregistered commodity pool and failing to comply with federal regulations, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Friday.

The CFTC issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Thomas and Bartoletta for registration and reporting violations under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related CFTC regulations. The agency found that Thomas acted as an unregistered associated person (AP) for the commodity pool operator (CPO) and failed to meet reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Bartoletta is accused of acting as an unregistered AP and also an unregistered commodity trading advisor (CTA). Both men operated the pool through Capital Trading Advisory Group LLC (CTAG), a now-defunct Florida corporation based in Seminole. From approximately August 2015 through March 2017, CTAG accepted funds from at least 35 investors.

According to the CFTC, Thomas, as the sole owner of CTAG, solicited and collected funds from investors. He also allegedly operated the pool under a false claim of exemption from CPO requirements and failed to provide required disclosure statements and reports. Bartoletta, while unregistered as a CTA, provided trading advice and directed trades in the account holding participant funds. He also allegedly solicited funds from potential investors.

As a result of the violations, Thomas and Bartoletta will jointly pay a $280,000 civil monetary penalty and are ordered to cease and desist from further violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations.

The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the National Futures Association and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tampa Field Office in the investigation. The agency urges the public to verify a company’s registration with the CFTC before investing and provides resources for reporting suspicious activity.

Source: CFTC.gov

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