WASHINGTON, D.C. – A U.S. District Court in Florida has issued default judgments against Emerson Pires, Flavio Goncalves, and Joshua Nicholas for their roles in a multi-million dollar commodity pool fraud known as EmpiresX. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the rulings on Monday, February 4, 2025.
The court ordered Pires and Goncalves to jointly pay over $32 million in disgorgement and $96 million in civil penalties. Nicholas was assessed $289,000 in disgorgement and $867,000 in civil monetary penalties. All three are permanently banned from trading in CFTC-regulated markets and registering with the agency.
The case stems from a CFTC complaint filed in June 2022, alleging the defendants fraudulently solicited over 12,500 individuals to invest in commodity futures and options through EmpiresX, operating via a website and social media promotions. From approximately September 2020, the scheme amassed at least $41.6 million, with Pires and Goncalves allegedly retaining over $32 million in illicit profits.
The court found that Pires, Goncalves, and Nicholas knowingly made false claims about how participant funds were used, the size of the investment pools, and the returns generated. Specifically, Nicholas presented a fabricated account statement, falsely claiming EmpiresX had a profitable account with a major electronic trading platform. He created a deceptive website mimicking the legitimate platform to further mislead investors.
By November 2021, the defendants ceased fulfilling participant withdrawal requests. The court also determined the defendants acted as unregistered associated persons of Empires Consulting Corporation, the operator of the EmpiresX commodity pools, and commingled funds in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act.
This case runs parallel to other enforcement actions. In September 2022, Nicholas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, as announced by the Department of Justice. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also obtained a default judgment against Pires and Goncalves in June 2023, related to the EmpiresX scheme. Empires Consulting Corp. was previously ordered to pay $64 million in monetary sanctions by the court.
The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the SEC and the National Futures Association in the investigation. The case was led by CFTC staff members Heather N. Dasso, Ben Sedrish, Elizabeth N. Pendleton, and Scott R. Will.
Source: CFTC.gov
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