On July 10, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a court order of default judgment in its case against Joshua Christian McDonald and his company, Perfection PR Firm LLC (PPR). The default judgment order finds that McDonald and PPR committed fraud, misappropriated customer funds, and operated without proper registration. McDonald and PPR must pay $360,565 in restitution to defrauded customers and a civil monetary penalty of $935,907.
The CFTC charged McDonald and PPR with fraud and misappropriation in relation to an off-exchange foreign currency (forex) trading scheme. The CFTC claims that McDonald and PPR solicited funds totaling at least $440,000. In doing so, the CFTC says PPR acted as an unregistered commodity pool operator, and McDonald acted as an unregistered Associated Person of PPR. The CFTC further alleges that McDonald and PPR misrepresented their success in trading forex to prospective customers. Additionally, the CFTC alleges that McDonald and PPR misappropriated customers’ funds in several ways, including using them to pay for McDonald’s personal expenses.
On August 6, the CFTC Whistleblower Program posted a Notice of Covered Action in reference to the case. This notice informs individuals who provided information about the fraud to the CFTC, to submit a whistleblower awards claim. Eligible CFTC whistleblowers are entitled to a monetary award amounting to 10-30% of the money recovered by the Commission in the case. Individuals who voluntarily submit original information that leads to a successful enforcement action are eligible for whistleblower awards.
Read:
The CFTC Press Release on the Case: Federal Court Orders Defendants to Pay Nearly $1.3 Million in Forex Fraud Scheme | CFTC
The Notice of Covered Action: https://www.whistleblower.gov/notices/2020-010