Chicago, IL – William H. Powderly IV, a resident of New Hope, Pennsylvania, has been charged with commodity futures fraud by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on May 2, 2017.
Powderly allegedly fraudulently solicited at least $825,000 from four or more customers between January 2016 and October 2016, promising profitable commodity futures trading. The CFTC alleges he claimed to have developed, with a university professor, a trading program that generated exceptional hypothetical results and consistently positive “beta” testing gains.
However, the complaint details that Powderly failed to disclose that his *actual* trading during this period was consistently unprofitable, incurring monthly losses. He is accused of concealing these losses by distributing false and misleading account statements to his customers, fabricating a picture of successful trading.
The CFTC is pursuing full restitution for the defrauded customers, along with disgorgement of any ill-gotten gains. They are also seeking civil monetary penalties, a permanent ban from trading and registration, and a permanent injunction to prevent future violations of federal commodities laws.
The case is being litigated by Diane M. Romaniuk, Joseph Patrick, Lindsey Evans, Scott Williamson, and Rosemary Hollinger of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement. The agency’s media contact for this case is Dennis Holden, reachable at 202-418-5088.
Source: CFTC.gov
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