Traverse City, Michigan – Jerry Stauffer was permanently banned from trading and soliciting funds after being found to have operated a fraudulent off-exchange foreign currency (forex) pool scheme, according to a Consent Order entered by Judge Paul L. Maloney of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on April 13, 2018.
The action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) resolves charges stemming from a complaint filed on February 25, 2015, alleging that Stauffer fraudulently solicited funds, issued false statements, and misappropriated money from investors between June 2010 and February 2015. Stauffer, acting as a commodity pool operator, allegedly guaranteed principal investments and promised profits to pool participants.
To maintain the scheme, Stauffer provided investors with fabricated account statements showing purported profits. He also used participant funds for purposes other than trading and improperly operated the commodity pool under his own name, the CFTC stated.
The Consent Order imposes a lifetime ban on Stauffer from soliciting or trading customer funds. A supplemental order, issued March 30, 2018, further prohibits Stauffer from personal trading on CFTC-regulated markets for 15 years.
This civil enforcement action follows a criminal indictment and conviction. Stauffer was found guilty on criminal charges related to the same conduct on June 14, 2016, and sentenced to ten years in prison. He was also ordered to pay $845,679 in restitution to the victims of his fraud. The CFTC deferred to the criminal court’s restitution award.
The CFTC collaborated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on this case. Eugenia Vroustouris, Michelle Bougas, Erica Bodin, Kathleen Banar, and Rick Glaser of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement were responsible for the investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Kim Duron Mulder, Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud, Michigan 2014 · Michigan
- Timothy Darnel Keith, Conspiracy to Commit Access Device Fraud, Michigan 2023 · Michigan
- Aria O Sabit, Health Care Fraud, Michigan 2024 · Washington
- Kiara Nicole Hall, Wire Fraud, Michigan 2017 · Florida
- Diallo Dotson, Tax Return Fraud Conspiracy, Michigan 2024 · Michigan
