Brooklyn resident Yehuda L. Belsky is facing charges of solicitation fraud, making false statements, and failing to register as a Commodity Trading Advisor, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on September 26, 2018. The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against Belsky and his firm, Y Trading, LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
According to the complaint, Belsky fraudulently solicited at least $1,258,000 from at least 14 customers, claiming he was an expert binary options trader. He allegedly misrepresented his trading record and failed to disclose that he was misappropriating customer funds. Belsky reportedly had no legitimate trading accounts in the name of either himself or Y Trading.
The CFTC alleges that Belsky’s fraudulent activity occurred from at least June 22, 2015, through the present. He is accused of providing false account statements and using the alias “Jay Bell” to conceal his identity from customers. This isn’t Belsky’s first run-in with the CFTC; a 2008 order found that Belsky and a previous company he owned, Innovative Capital Management, LLC, committed a $1,250,000 fraud and misappropriated funds. That order imposed permanent trading bans on both Belsky and Innovative.
Despite the 2008 order, Belsky allegedly violated its terms by secretly accessing and trading binary options accounts belonging to at least three of his customers through stolen login credentials. The CFTC is seeking full restitution for defrauded customers, disgorgement of any ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of federal commodities laws.
James McDonald, the CFTC’s Director of Enforcement, emphasized the Commission’s commitment to rooting out fraud and prosecuting those who violate prior orders or provide false statements. The CFTC is working in parallel with the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a related criminal proceeding.
Source: CFTC.gov
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