Cincinnati, OH – Glen Galemmo was charged by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with operating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme through his firm, QFC, LLC, between February 18, 2010, and at least July 17, 2013. The complaint, filed September 15, 2014, alleges Galemmo misled investors with false claims of substantial returns.
According to the CFTC, Galemmo falsely stated the commodity pool generated returns of 17 to 40 percent between 2008 and 2012. He also allegedly failed to disclose that he hadn’t actually traded participant funds from at least 2003 through May 2011. From April 2011 onwards, only approximately $4.7 million of the over $116 million collected from investors was deposited into futures accounts controlled by Galemmo, resulting in trading losses of around $1.2 million.
The complaint details that Galemmo misappropriated investor funds for personal use and to cover up the fraudulent activity, issuing false account statements to conceal the scheme. He further withdrew approximately $2.7 million from the futures accounts.
Notably, Galemmo had already pleaded guilty in a related criminal case on January 15, 2014, as documented in United States v. Glen Galemmo, Case No. 1:13-cr-00141-HJW (S.D. Ohio).
The CFTC is seeking the return of illegally obtained gains, restitution for victims, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions to prevent further violations of federal commodities laws. The investigation was led by CFTC staff members Eugene Smith, Peter M. Haas, Dmitriy Vilenskiy, and Paul G. Hayeck.
The CFTC urges anyone with information regarding suspicious activity or potential violations of commodity trading laws to contact them via their toll-free hotline at 866-FON-CFTC or submit a tip online.
Source: CFTC.gov
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