A Texas man has been slapped with a hefty penalty and lifetime ban from commodity and virtual currency trading after being accused of running a fraudulent investment scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Friday.
Jeremey Rounsville, also known as David Peterson, will pay a $177,000 civil monetary penalty and is permanently prohibited from soliciting investments, trading in commodity interests or virtual currencies, and registering with the CFTC in any capacity. The CFTC order simultaneously filed and settled the charges against Rounsville, requiring him to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related regulations.
According to the CFTC, between May 2018 and 2019, Rounsville fraudulently solicited customers through a website platform promising managed virtual currency trading. Investigators allege Rounsville falsely presented himself as the Chief Executive Officer of the website, actively seeking investors under false pretenses.
Rounsville reportedly claimed the platform utilized arbitrage opportunities across various virtual currency exchanges to guarantee immediate profits for investors. He further touted a “highly advanced arbitrage bot,” dubbed “aBOT,” as the engine behind this seamless, automated trading. However, the CFTC found the aBOT never actually executed any trades on behalf of customers.
Ultimately, customers were unable to withdraw their funds, resulting in significant financial losses. The CFTC’s investigation revealed the entire operation was a sham, built on misleading claims and a non-existent trading bot.
The case was led by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members Michael Cazakoff, Janine Gargiulo, K. Brent Tomer, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan.
Source: CFTC.gov
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