MIAMI, FL – Juvenal Eduardo Machado, 41, has been slapped with a default judgment and permanent injunction following a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement action. Judge Marcia G. Cook of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued the order on May 8, 2012, finding Machado and his company, Invers Forex, LLC, liable for defrauding customers in a foreign currency (forex) scam.
The CFTC initially filed charges on June 23, 2011, alleging Machado misappropriated customer funds. The court order requires Machado and Invers Forex to jointly pay a $3.92 million civil monetary penalty, along with restitution totaling $201,613. Both defendants are permanently banned from trading and registering with the CFTC, and are prohibited from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
According to the order, between December 2008 and at least March 2010, Machado and Invers Forex fraudulently solicited at least $717,100 from roughly 28 individuals – including friends, neighbors, and fellow church members – to trade forex on their behalf. Machado reportedly held prayer meetings in his Miami home, where he promoted his forex trading “experience” and promised financial freedom.
The CFTC found that Machado told potential investors that he was divinely appointed to help people financially, and that his forex trading would provide them with lifetime financial security. He also allegedly guaranteed monthly “interest” (profits) of five percent or more and falsely claimed to have never lost money trading forex.
Of the $717,100 collected from customers, $120,117 was lost through trading, $395,370 was returned as purported profits, and $201,613 was misappropriated by Machado. In May or June 2010, Machado moved to Ontario, Canada, taking the remaining customer funds with him, and has since been unreachable, according to the court order.
The CFTC acknowledged assistance from the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority in the investigation. The case was led by CFTC staff members Matthew Elkan, Michael Loconte, Erica Bodin, Dan Jordan, Rick Glaser, and Richard Wagner.
Source: CFTC.gov
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