A federal court in Illinois has ordered William H. Powderly IV, of New Hope, Pennsylvania, to pay $1,083,138 in penalties for defrauding customers through false representations about a commodity futures trading program. The judgment, issued by Judge Marvin Aspen on March 5, 2019, stems from a complaint filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in May 2017.
The court found that from January 2016 through October 2016, Powderly falsely claimed to have developed a highly successful commodity futures trading program with a university professor. He allegedly told customers and potential investors that “beta” testing consistently generated profits without any losses. In reality, the program was consistently unprofitable.
Powderly accepted $1,278,000 from seven customers but incurred trading losses exceeding $1 million over a ten-month period. Despite these losses, he fabricated account statements reporting profits and concealed the true, losing nature of the trades from investors.
This penalty is in addition to a prior consent order issued in September 2018, which required Powderly to pay $1,069,300 in restitution to the defrauded customers. He is also permanently banned from trading and registering with the CFTC, and is prohibited from future violations of commodity trading laws.
The CFTC advises that restitution orders do not guarantee recovery of lost funds, as wrongdoers may lack sufficient assets. The agency stated it will continue to pursue accountability for those who harm commodity trading customers.
The case was led by CFTC staff members Joseph Patrick, Lindsey Evans, Scott Williamson, and former staff members Diane M. Romaniuk and Rosemary Hollinger.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Christian Matthews, Pandemic Benefit Fraud, Illinois 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Tanya M. Aboseada, Wire Fraud, Illinois 2024 · Florida
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Elder Fraud Prevention, Illinois 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Edward L. Stief Jr., Elder Fraud, Illinois 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Andrew S Boutros, Healthcare Fraud, Illinois 2024 · Illinois
