Houston, TX – Mayco Alexis Maldonado Garcia, along with Cesar Castaneda and Joel Castaneda Garcia, have been permanently banned from commodity trading and ordered to pay restitution and penalties totaling over $1.7 million, following a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) originally filed suit against the trio in September 2020.
Judge Sim Lake entered consent orders against all three defendants, barring them from registering with the CFTC and engaging in any future commodity interest trading. The orders mandate $989,550 in restitution to defrauded customers. Mayco Maldonado Garcia faces a $400,000 civil monetary penalty, while Cesar Castaneda and Joel Castaneda Garcia will each pay $180,000.
The CFTC’s investigation revealed that from at least August 2016 through October 2017, the defendants operated a fraudulent scheme through their company, Global Trading Club (GTC). They falsely advertised to potential and existing customers that GTC employed experienced “master traders” and utilized sophisticated “trading robots” to generate profits from Bitcoin trading “24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Defendants also falsely promised increased earnings based on deposit amounts and referral bonuses.
According to the complaint, at least 27 customers deposited a total of $989,000 with GTC representatives. The defendants allegedly concealed their fraudulent activities by posting misleading trading statements online. The investigation further determined the defendants used these false representations to solicit funds from investors.
The CFTC’s litigation remains ongoing against a fourth defendant in the case, Rodrigo Jose Castro Molina. The Division of Enforcement was led by Maura Viehmeyer, Erica Bodin, James A. Garcia, Aimée Latimer-Zayets, and Rick Glaser.
The CFTC encourages individuals with information regarding potential violations of commodity trading laws to contact them via the toll-free hotline at 866-FON-CFTC or submit a tip online. Whistleblowers may be eligible for a reward of 10-30% of collected monetary sanctions.
Source: CFTC.gov
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