New York, NY – Ross Baldwin and his defunct Florida firm, National Coin Broker, Inc., are permanently barred from trading and registering with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) following a consent order entered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The ruling resolves a CFTC enforcement action dating back to July 1, 2021, and follows earlier default judgments against Robert Jeffrey Johnson, Kathleen Hook, Precious Commodities Inc., and NCB Wholesale Co.
The court has mandated that Baldwin, along with Johnson, Hook, and the two companies, collectively pay $6,923,919 in restitution to defrauded investors. Additionally, Johnson, Hook, Precious Commodities Inc., and NCB Wholesale Co. must pay a $11.5 million civil monetary penalty. The charges stem from a scheme between June 2014 and at least October 2019, where the defendants solicited millions of dollars in cash and silver through a program called the Silver Lease Program, falsely claiming it was a legitimate precious metals leasing opportunity.
This CFTC action runs parallel to a criminal case where Johnson pleaded guilty to wire fraud, Hook to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Baldwin to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of making false statements to CFTC officials. The criminal case is United States v. Johnson et al., 21 Cr. 428 (S.D.N.Y.).
The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI, the U.S. Mint, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority in the investigation. The agency cautioned that victims may not fully recover their losses due to potential limitations in the defendants’ assets.
The CFTC encourages the public to verify registration with the National Futures Association (NFA) before investing and to report suspicious activity via its hotline at 866-FON-CFTC or through its online tip/complaint system. Whistleblowers may be eligible for financial rewards.
Source: CFTC.gov
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