Charlotte, NC – Toby D. Hunter, along with his companies Prestige Capital Advisors, LLC and D2W Capital Management, LLC, have been ordered to pay over $4.3 million in restitution and approximately $7.5 million in penalties for defrauding clients, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced June 20, 2013. The orders stem from a case originally filed on September 6, 2011, alleging fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation of funds, and regulatory violations.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, under Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr., issued default judgments against Prestige and D2W on January 25, 2013, imposing civil penalties of $6.9 million on Prestige and $280,000 on D2W. A subsequent order on February 22, 2013, mandated Prestige pay over $4.1 million and D2W pay $85,250 in restitution to defrauded clients.
According to court findings, Prestige fraudulently obtained more than $4.7 million from investors for commodity pools trading commodities and futures contracts. The firm allegedly posted false trading returns on the BarclayHedge website, sent fabricated trading results to clients, and issued inaccurate account statements. Approximately $2.3 million of investor funds were reportedly misappropriated by Prestige. D2W, a foreign exchange account service, was also found to have sent false account statements to at least one client.
On June 13, 2013, Judge Cogburn entered a consent order settling charges against Hunter. This order requires Hunter to pay $85,000 in restitution to D2W clients, $40,000 to Prestige pool participants, and a $280,000 civil penalty. Hunter also faces criminal charges related to the Prestige matter, brought forth by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina.
The CFTC acknowledged assistance from the British Columbia Securities Commission and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority in this case. The enforcement action was led by CFTC staff members Eugenia Vroustouris, Daniel Jordan, Michael Loconte, Erica Bodin, Rick Glaser, and Richard Wagner.
Source: CFTC.gov
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