Brooklyn resident Michael Kourmolis has been permanently banned from trading commodity interests following a consent order issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The order, entered on November 10, 2009, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, effectively prohibits Kourmolis from soliciting funds, registering with the CFTC, or trading for himself or others.
The case originated from a CFTC complaint filed in July 2003 against Kourmolis, Thomas Qualls, and International Foreign Currency, Inc. (IFC). The CFTC alleged that Kourmolis fraudulently induced customers to open accounts with IFC to trade foreign currency futures contracts. According to the court’s findings, Kourmolis misrepresented IFC’s capabilities, falsely claiming the company’s “large fund and…banks and institutions overseas” allowed it to “maximize profit potential while also minimizing capital risk.”
Kourmolis also allegedly misled customers by falsely stating they would have personal accounts and that their funds were insured by a bank for up to $25 million. The CFTC’s litigation against IFC and Qualls is ongoing.
In a related criminal case, Thomas Qualls was indicted by a grand jury in January 2007 on charges of wire and mail fraud, as well as obstruction of justice. The obstruction charges stemmed from allegations that Qualls concealed documents and provided false statements during a CFTC deposition. Qualls was convicted by a jury on November 5, 2008, but fled prior to sentencing and was later apprehended in Canada.
The CFTC’s enforcement team included James H. Holl, III, Katherine Scovin Driscoll, Gretchen L. Lowe, and Vincent McGonagle. The order was issued in Washington, D.C. on November 12, 2009.
Source: CFTC.gov
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