Washington D.C. – Joseph Dufresne and Megan Renkow, residents of Palos Verdes Estates, California, have been ordered to pay over $4.9 million in restitution and penalties for defrauding investors through their company, United Business Servicing, LLC, doing business as SchoolofTrade.com (SoT). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a Consent Order against Dufresne, Renkow, and their companies on November 22, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The order requires Dufresne, Renkow, and United Business to jointly and severally pay $3,941,157 in restitution to the investors they defrauded, as well as a $1 million civil monetary penalty. The charges stem from a CFTC enforcement action originally filed on September 30, 2016, alleging fraudulent marketing of commodity futures strategies and systems.
According to court findings, the defendants engaged in a pattern of false statements and omissions while marketing SoT’s trading strategies. Specifically, they falsely claimed substantial annual profits from their trading accounts – purportedly hundreds of thousands of dollars – when, in reality, none of their accounts had ever shown a profit. Dufresne was also falsely presented as a successful, award-winning professional trader with years of experience, a claim the court found to be untrue.
The court also found that the defendants misrepresented live trading sessions conducted in SoT’s “Live Trade Room,” claiming to make profitable trades when no such trades or profits could be verified in their account records. Furthermore, they failed to prominently display required disclosures regarding simulated trading results and client testimonials, as mandated by CFTC regulations.
In addition to the financial penalties, Dufresne and Renkow are permanently prohibited from trading in any market regulated by the CFTC and from seeking registration or exemption from registration with the agency. The CFTC advises that the recovery of funds for victims is not guaranteed, as the defendants may lack sufficient assets to cover the restitution.
The case was led by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members Maura Viehmeyer, Erica Bodin, Alan Edelman, Michael Solinsky and Rick Glaser.
Source: CFTC.gov
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