West Jefferson, NC – July 31, 2015 – Keith F. Simmons has been penalized $76 million, along with Deanna Salazar, in connection with a foreign currency exchange (forex) scheme, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today. Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina entered Consent Orders against Simmons and his company, Black Diamond Capital Solutions, LLC, and Salazar and her companies, Life Plus Group, LLC and Black Diamond Holdings, LLC.
The Orders impose permanent trading and registration bans on the defendants and prohibit further violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). The CFTC initially filed a complaint against Simmons, Salazar, and their companies on January 13, 2011, alleging fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of customer funds in a Ponzi-style scheme.
From approximately April 2007 through 2009, Simmons and Salazar allegedly fraudulently solicited at least $35 million from over 240 individuals to participate in off-exchange forex trading through a platform called Black Diamond. However, the CFTC found no actual forex trading ever occurred on the platform, which essentially did not exist. Instead, customer funds were misappropriated to pay earlier investors – a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme – and for personal and unrelated business expenses.
Simmons and Salazar further concealed their fraud by issuing false customer account statements, falsely claiming successful forex trading returns. The CFTC’s investigation revealed these statements were fabricated.
In a separate criminal case, Simmons was convicted on December 16, 2010, on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He received a 40-year prison sentence and was ordered to pay $35 million in criminal restitution. Salazar pleaded guilty to investment fraud conspiracy and tax evasion on December 7, 2010, and was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison and ordered to pay $5 million in restitution. Both defendants remain incarcerated as of today’s announcement.
The CFTC’s enforcement action also names Bryan Coats and Jonathan Davey as defendants in ongoing litigation. Alan Edelman, Maura Viehmeyer, James H. Holl III, Gretchen L. Lowe, and Rick Glaser of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement led the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Michael Smith, AI-Generated Song Fraud, Manhattan NY, 2023 · North Carolina
- Kenneth Thom, Investment Adviser Fraud, New York NY, 2023 · New York
- Tracey Hernandez, Tax Fraud, Burlington NC, 2021-2022 · North Carolina
- No Defendant Name Found, Bank Fraud Scheme, USA, 2022 · New York
- Letitia James, Investment Fraud, New York 2023 · New Hampshire
