Dallas, TX – September 14, 2021 – Rudy Avila has been charged with multiple counts of fraud by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The complaint alleges Avila, along with six companies, engaged in fraudulent solicitation of funds for commodity futures, options, and retail foreign currency trading, resulting in significant financial losses for investors.
The CFTC alleges that from at least 2017 through spring 2020, Avila and entities including The L.I.F.T. Group LLC (LIFT), CIG Internacional Sociedad Anónima (CIG), and Trading Technologies Group Sociedad Anónima (TTG) fraudulently obtained at least $4.2 million from over 170 clients of CIG. A second scheme, beginning in 2019, involved Avila and companies Trading Ventures Group, LLC (TVG), Capital Ventures Group, LLC (CVG), and Ventures Group, LLC (VGL) allegedly defrauding at least 55 TVG clients out of $1.8 million.
According to the complaint, the defendants falsely promised guaranteed profits through derivatives and forex trading, while allegedly misappropriating client funds. These funds were not used for trading as represented, but were instead diverted, with some used to make payments to earlier investors in a Ponzi-like fashion. Clients were provided with fabricated trading statements displaying fictitious gains and losses. CIG and TVG are also accused of failing to register as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) as required by law.
The CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations. In total, CIG clients are reported to have lost $3.58 million, and TVG clients at least $1.773 million.
In a parallel criminal case, U.S. v. Avila, case number 3:21-cr-00168-M-1, Avila pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and the FBI Dallas/Fort Worth field office in this matter.
Source: CFTC.gov
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