A Missouri man and his California-based firm are facing charges of fraud and misappropriation related to a $440,000 forex trading scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today. Joshua Christian McDonald and his company, Perfection PR Firm LLC (PPR), allegedly defrauded at least 12 investors, including several Missouri residents.
The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that McDonald and PPR acted as unregistered commodity pool operators and associated persons. Prosecutors claim the defendants pooled investor funds into accounts they controlled, then falsely promised monthly returns of 10% to 50% beginning in August 2017.
However, the complaint states McDonald did not trade forex profitably and actually lost money. Instead of legitimate trading, the CFTC alleges McDonald misappropriated investor funds, transferring them to his personal digital asset accounts and using them for personal expenses. Investors reportedly lost most or all of their initial investments.
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 the Commodity Exchange Act.
McDonald also faces criminal charges. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri indicted him on four counts of wire fraud on January 29, 2020 (U.S. v. McDonald, 4:20-CR-70 SRC SPM).
The CFTC investigation received assistance from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities Division of the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State, and the Securities Division of the Office of the Mississippi Secretary of State.
The case was led by CFTC staff members Dmitriy Vilenskiy, Christine Ryall, Paul Hayeck, and former staff member Greta Gao.
The CFTC advises investors to verify a company’s registration before investing and provides a hotline (866-FON-CFTC) and online portal for reporting suspicious activity.
Source: CFTC.gov
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