LAS VEGAS, NV – Perry Jay Griggs and his wife, Rachelle Griggs, along with their company Aloha Trading Company, Inc., have been ordered to pay $2.1 million in penalties to settle charges of operating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, according to a federal court consent order entered September 30, 2011.
Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii issued the order, which also permanently bans the defendants from trading and registering with the CFTC. The CFTC alleges that from 2005 through 2009, the Griggses and Aloha fraudulently solicited over $3 million from investors, many of whom resided in Hawaii.
The investigation revealed the couple misappropriated approximately $1 million of investor funds for personal expenses, including luxury car leases, a Hawaiian home rental, jewelry purchases, and private jet charters. The $2.1 million penalty is to be paid jointly and severally by Perry Jay Griggs, Rachelle Griggs, and Aloha Trading Company, Inc.
This civil settlement follows a related criminal case in August 2011, where Perry Griggs was sentenced to 87 months in prison and Rachelle Griggs received a 48-month prison sentence. Both were also ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution to the defrauded investors, according to court records (U.S. v. Griggs et al., 10-cr-00790 DAE, D. Haw.).
The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the State of Hawaii, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in bringing the case to resolution. The case was led by CFTC staff members Jennifer E. Smiley, Judith McCorkle, Joseph Konizeski, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.
The consent order was issued on October 4, 2011.
Source: CFTC.gov
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