BELLINGHAM, WA – Senen Pousa, along with Joel Friant and their company, Investment Intelligence Corporation (IIC), are facing charges of operating a $53 million fraudulent foreign currency (forex) scheme, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced September 19, 2012. The scheme allegedly targeted over 960 clients globally, including at least 697 in the United States.
The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against Pousa, of Australia, Friant, of Bellingham, Washington, and IIC, an Australian corporation. Michael Dillard and Elevation Group, Inc., both of Austin, Texas, were also charged with registration violations. Judge Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas immediately issued an emergency order freezing the assets of Pousa, Friant, and IIC, and preventing the destruction of records on September 18, 2012.
According to the complaint, IIC, through Pousa, Friant, and other agents, used online seminars—webcasts, webinars, podcasts, and emails—to solicit clients to open forex trading accounts. These clients were allegedly promised a monthly return of 9 percent, with limited risk. IIC claimed to risk less than 3 percent of a client’s capital per transaction, limit trades to 2-5 per month, and employ six “proprietary traders” working around the clock.
The CFTC alleges that all of these representations were false. In May 2012, clients reportedly lost over 60 percent of their investments when IIC executed over 200 forex trades in each account, violating previously stated risk limitations. The agency seeks restitution, rescission, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions against further violations of federal commodities laws.
On September 18, 2012, a consent order was entered against Michael Dillard and Elevation Group, Inc. The court found that Elevation Group acted as an unregistered Introducing Broker and that Dillard functioned as an unregistered Associated Person. The CFTC received assistance in this case from multiple international regulatory bodies, including the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the U.K. Financial Services Authority.
Source: CFTC.gov
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