West Palm Beach, FL – Rajiv Patel, also known as Ravi Patel and Raj Patel, was at the center of a $9.8 million fraud scheme before his death on January 28, 2022, according to a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) complaint and subsequent court order.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a restraining order on January 20, 2022, freezing assets controlled by Patel and his company, Bluprint LLC, both located in Wellington, Florida. The order stemmed from a CFTC complaint filed on January 18, 2022, detailing allegations of fraud against at least 16 investors.
From approximately June 2019 until the time of the complaint, Patel, as owner and managing director of Bluprint, allegedly misappropriated funds from a commodity pool marketed to investors with the promise of trading commodity futures and options. Instead of responsibly investing the funds, the CFTC alleges Patel used the money for personal expenses and unprofitable trading in personal accounts.
Despite significant losses incurred through these trades, Patel reportedly falsely informed pool participants that their investments were generating interest. The complaint further alleges that Patel and Bluprint concealed the fraud by providing false information to introducing brokers and futures commission merchants holding the accounts and funds.
The CFTC also alleges Patel and Bluprint failed to comply with mandatory registration, disclosure, and reporting requirements. A preliminary injunction hearing, scheduled for January 31, 2022, was cancelled following the death of Patel. The CFTC has not indicated whether the case against Bluprint LLC will continue.
The case was led by CFTC Enforcement staff members Monique McElwee, Elsie Robinson, Jeff Le Riche, Christopher Reed, and Charles Marvine.
Source: CFTC.gov
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