Anderson, South Carolina resident Jody Dupont and his company, Open Range Trading LLC, are facing charges of fraud brought by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action alleging Dupont and Open Range fraudulently solicited clients into a commodity futures day-trading system called the “Open Range Trading System” and related services.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, details how Dupont and Open Range, which has never been registered with the CFTC, allegedly made false and misleading claims to attract customers. These claims included falsely stating Dupont had over twenty years of futures trading experience, promising large profits with minimal risk, and falsely implying they were actively trading when they were not.
Specifically, the CFTC alleges Open Range’s website advertised profits ranging from $700 to over $13,000 per month, showcasing 30 profitable months out of 37 while trading only three contracts. However, the CFTC claims Open Range never held a futures account to generate these profits, and Dupont’s own two accounts both resulted in losses.
Dupont and Open Range allegedly collected approximately $92,000 from clients, charging between $250 and $25,000 for access to the trading signals and personalized advice. The CFTC also claims the defendants failed to include a required disclaimer stating that any performance results were hypothetical and not based on actual trading.
The CFTC is seeking full restitution for defrauded clients, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, a civil monetary penalty, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of federal commodities laws. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office assisted in the investigation.
The case is being led by CFTC staff members Camille Arnold, Melissa Cavers, David Terrell, Scott Williamson, and Rosemary Hollinger.
Source: CFTC.gov
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