Financial Crime World

Title: “CFTC Cracks Down on $17 Million Ponzi Scheme in Puerto Rico: Four Individuals and Companies Charged”

CFTC Files Lawsuit against Alleged Ponzi Scheme Operators

  • The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on February 13, 2023, the filing of a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
  • Ramon Salvador Delgado-Gomez (Gomez), FX Latino (FXL), FXL Investment PR LLC (FXLI), Walmy Rivera-Santiago (Rivera), JRH Services Inc. (JRH), Hector Javier Santos-Pagan (Santos), and Infinity Investment and Construction Management Corp. (Infinity) are charged with operating a large-scale Ponzi scheme worth millions
  • Targeted over 2,000 individuals and entities, soliciting over $17 million from Puerto Rico and the continental United States

Charges of Fraud and Registration Violations

  • Defendants accused of misappropriating at least $13 million of invested funds
  • FXLI, JRH, and Infinity enabled the illegal scheme by accepting funds, facilitating transfers, and making Ponzi-type payments
  • Gomez and FXL failed to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) and associated person of a CPO, respectively

Scheme Targeted Over $17 Million from Investors

  • Defendants targeted more than 2,000 individuals and entities
  • Solicited over $17 million from Puerto Rico and the continental United States
  • Engaged in minimal trading and misappropriated funds, using them for trading returns and business expenses, as well as making payments to the alleged mastermind and other unnamed individuals and entities

Aid from International Agencies in Prosecution of the Case

  • The CFTC is appreciative of the aid from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Enforcement Staff Involved

  • Division of Enforcement staff handling this case includes: Erica Bodin, Kara Mucha, Brian Hunt, Alan Edelman, Aimee Latimer-Zayets, and Rick Glaser

Significance of the Case

  • The case underlines the CFTC’s commitment to uncovering fraudulent schemes and holding those who deceive investors accountable

Current Charges against the Defendants

  • Defendants are facing charges of restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.