Washington, DC – Scott A. Beatty of Roy, Utah, has been ordered to pay $1.641 million in restitution and penalties for defrauding investors in a foreign currency (forex) scheme, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on September 30, 2014.
Beatty, operating as Peak Capital Group, Inc. and through his company Peak Capital Management Group, Inc. (Peak Capital) based in Ogden, Utah, solicited approximately $825,000 from at least 49 Japanese citizens between January 2011 and April 2014. The CFTC found that Beatty and Peak Capital failed to register with the agency as required.
According to the CFTC’s order, Beatty opened a single trading account under the name of PCMG, which incurred losses. He then misappropriated $641,000 of customer funds for personal expenses—including car payments, retail purchases, and travel—and used some of the stolen money to create a Ponzi-like scheme by issuing fabricated profit payments to customers.
Beatty falsely claimed to be an experienced forex trading advisor capable of generating returns as high as 43.9 percent. The CFTC investigation revealed that Beatty was not a skilled trader and that the returns he advertised on his website were fabricated.
In addition to the $641,000 in restitution and a $1 million civil monetary penalty, Beatty and Peak Capital are permanently banned from trading and registering with the CFTC, and are prohibited from violating the Commodity Exchange Act and related regulations. The CFTC cautioned that victims may not recover all of their lost funds.
The case was led by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members Brigitte Weyls, Ava Gould, Scott Williamson, and Rosemary Hollinger.
The CFTC advises potential investors to be wary of forex scams and provides resources for identifying fraudulent activity on its website.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Keith Eric Jergensen, Investment Fraud, Utah 2024 · New York
- Calvin Curtis, Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, Utah 2024 · Utah
- Leland Fishback, COVID-Relief Fraud, Utah 2024 · Nevada
- Kenny Dirk Van Der Spek, Securities Fraud, Utah 2024 · Washington
- Utah Indictment Reveals 14 Defendants in Spice Distribution, Money … · Illinois
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News