New York, NY – April 12, 2007 – Lyle Wexler, a resident of Miami, Florida, has been permanently barred from the commodities market and ordered to pay over $1.1 million in restitution and penalties following a CFTC enforcement action. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the settlement on April 12, 2007, after a consent order was entered by the Honorable William H. Pauley, III of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The case, originating from a CFTC complaint filed in May 2005, alleges that Wexler, while employed as a broker at International Forex Advisory Group (IFA Group) and Worldwide Currencies Corp. (Worldwide), engaged in fraudulent solicitation of customers for foreign currency (forex) options contracts between December 2003 and December 2004. He, along with Melvin and Larry Webman, misrepresented the potential profits of these contracts.
Specifically, the court found that from April 2004 through November 2004, Wexler knowingly made false and misleading statements to existing IFA Group and Worldwide customers, inducing them to buy and sell off-exchange forex options. Wexler fraudulently obtained a total of $959,677 from these customers. The fraudulent solicitations resulted in customer losses totaling $822,798.00, while Wexler personally profited with $139,810 in commissions.
As a result of the settlement, Wexler is required to pay $822,798.00 in restitution to the defrauded customers. He also faces a $280,000 civil monetary penalty. The court’s order includes permanent trading and registration bans, effectively barring Wexler from any future involvement in the commodities market.
This case is part of a broader CFTC enforcement action against IFA Group, Worldwide, and the Webmans. In November 2005, a default judgment was entered against IFA Group and Worldwide, imposing penalties and restitution totaling over $5.8 million. In July 2006, a consent order was entered against the Webmans, requiring them to pay over $3.9 million in restitution and penalties.
Source: CFTC.gov
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