A U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas has entered a final judgment against Jonathan Cartu, Leeav Peretz, and Nati Peretz – all believed to be residents of Israel – and their company, Blue Moon Investments Inc., a Seychelles corporation. The court found them liable for offering illegal, off-exchange binary options and committing fraud, resolving a case initially filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in September 2020.
The default judgment and permanent injunction orders the defendants to pay $51,155,645 in disgorgement, jointly and severally, and a civil monetary penalty of $153,466,935. They are also permanently banned from registering with the CFTC and trading on any registered entity.
According to the court’s findings, the defendants operated an internet platform beginning around September 26, 2015, offering illegal, off-exchange binary options to customers. The CFTC alleged and the court found that the defendants misrepresented the risks associated with binary options and manipulated trade results to force customer losses and increase their own profits.
Through this scheme, the defendants fraudulently obtained over $51,155,645 from U.S. customers. The CFTC acknowledged assistance from numerous international regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission, and authorities from Australia, Belize, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Ben Sedrish, Sincere Belton, Heather Dasso, Stacie Pan, Elizabeth N. Pendleton, Elizabeth Streit, Scott R. Williamson, and Robert T. Howell of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement were responsible for the case. The CFTC and SEC have jointly issued an investor alert warning about fraudulent binary options schemes, noting potential issues such as refusal to return funds, identity theft, and manipulated trading software.
The CFTC urges the public to verify a company’s registration before investing and provides resources such as NFA BASIC to check registration status. Suspicious activity can be reported via a toll-free hotline (866-FON-CFTC), online tip submission, or through the CFTC Whistleblower Office.
Source: CFTC.gov
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