Arden, NC – December 30, 2014 – Edwin A. Vasquez of Arden, North Carolina, has been hit with a hefty penalty and trading ban following a default judgment issued by Judge Martin Reidinger of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The judgment, entered Tuesday, stems from a complaint filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleging Vasquez and his company, Vasquez Global Investments, LLC (VGI), defrauded investors in a commodity pool known as the “Vasquez pool.”
The court ordered Vasquez and VGI, jointly and severally, to pay $331,556 in restitution to defrauded participants. Additionally, they are responsible for a civil monetary penalty of $994,668. The order permanently bans Vasquez from engaging in any trading, solicitation, or registration activities related to commodities.
The CFTC’s complaint, originally filed on July 30, 2014, accused Vasquez and VGI of misappropriation of funds, solicitation fraud, and issuing false statements in connection with the operation of an unregistered commodity trading pool. Investigators found evidence of commingling of pool participant funds and violations of registration requirements.
According to the court’s findings, beginning in August 2011, Vasquez, through himself and VGI, defrauded at least 19 participants who invested a total of $583,491 into the Vasquez pool. Vasquez allegedly told potential investors that he was a successful trader and falsely claimed the pool was a “no risk” investment. The CFTC found that $65,374 of the invested funds were lost through trading commodity futures, while $331,556 was misappropriated to cover VGI’s operating costs and Vasquez’s personal expenses, including travel, dining, and retail purchases.
Instead of disclosing these losses and misappropriation, Vasquez allegedly issued false statements to pool participants, falsely portraying the pool as profitable and maintaining the value of their shares. The North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, Securities Division, assisted in the investigation. The CFTC advises that restitution orders do not guarantee full recovery of lost funds, as wrongdoers may lack sufficient assets.
Source: CFTC.gov
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