Pearland, Texas resident Jonathan Hansen is facing civil charges of commodity fraud following an investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC filed an enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on August 24, 2012, alleging Hansen fraudulently solicited over $1.1 million from the public through a commodity pool scheme operated by his company, J. Hansen Investments, LLC (JHI).
According to the complaint, Hansen, who held sole control and ownership of JHI and served as its only employee, accepted funds from at least 10 individuals between April 2009 and January 2012. These funds were intended to be used for trading E-Mini S&P 500 futures contracts. Hansen reportedly solicited investors through personal meetings and word-of-mouth, primarily targeting friends and acquaintances of himself and his parents.
The CFTC alleges Hansen misappropriated approximately $134,965 of the pooled funds, transferring them to personal and JHI futures trading accounts, which consistently lost money. These funds were then reportedly used for personal expenses, including car payments, rent, dining, and utilities. To conceal the losses and continue the fraud, Hansen is accused of distributing false account statements and trading memoranda to investors. These documents falsely reported profits and inflated account values, claiming returns ranging from 0.58 percent to 2.20 percent monthly, and 10 percent to 30 percent annually.
On August 29, 2012, Judge Nancy F. Atlas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a statutory restraining order, freezing Hansen’s and JHI’s assets and prohibiting the destruction of records. A hearing is scheduled for September 6, 2012. The CFTC is seeking restitution for defrauded investors, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions against further violations of federal commodities laws.
The National Futures Association assisted the CFTC in this investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
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