William D. Perkins of St. George, Utah, has been ordered to pay over $2 million following a CFTC anti-fraud action, according to a federal court order issued March 25, 2009. The case, originally brought in 2006, centered around Perkins’ operation of Universe Capital Appreciation LLC and his bookkeeping service, Tax Accounting Office (TAO).
U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler of the District of New Jersey found that Perkins fraudulently solicited $3.4 million from investors for the commodity pool. The court determined Perkins was reckless in soliciting funds without verifying the claims made about the performance of the underlying “superfund,” particularly given his prior experience with failed high-yield investment schemes where participants lost over $2 million.
Perkins marketed Universe Capital Appreciation LLC as an opportunity for investors with limited capital to participate in a “superfund” purportedly generating annual profits of around 100% through financial futures contract trading. However, the CFTC alleged that this “superfund” was, in itself, a fraudulent operation subject to prior CFTC enforcement actions resulting in over $45 million in judgments.
As a result of the judgment, Perkins is required to repay $1.6 million to investors and pay a civil monetary penalty of $354,462. He is also prohibited from engaging in any future business activities involving commodity futures or options trading. The court further ordered TAO to repay $76,000 of investor funds that the service had no legitimate claim to.
The case was led by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members Elizabeth M. Streit, Joy McCormack, Venice Bickham, Scott R. Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner. The order was issued on April 9, 2009, from Washington, D.C.
Source: CFTC.gov
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