Release: 4629-02
For Release: April 9, 2002

CFTC SETTLES COMMODITY FRAUD SOLICITATION CASE AGAINST CALIFORNIA TRADING SYSTEM DEVELOPER

Defendant Abdullah Alsafari Barred From Further Fraudulent Conduct in Violation of Federal Commodities Laws

WASHINGTON - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the settlement of an enforcement action against Abdullah Alsafari of San Francisco, California. The CFTC action, filed on September 6, 2000, in the United States District Court of the Northern District of California, charged that Alsafari, individually and doing business on the internet as www.yentrading.com fraudulently sold his commodity futures trading system via advertisements in newspapers, demonstrations at local hotels, and on the internet (see CFTC News Release 4442-00, September 7, 2000).

Specifically, the complaint alleged that, from at least January 1998 through the filing of the complaint, Alsafari solicited members of the public, through advertisements and on the Internet, to invest in a trading system purportedly enabling them to profitably trade Japanese Yen futures contracts. Alsafari maintained two websites -- www.yentrading.com and www.currencytrading.com. In his advertisements and on his websites, Alsafari made guarantees of profits, such as $900 in daily profits, $10,000 in monthly profits, or $6,000 in monthly income with an investment of $8,000, the complaint charged. Alsafari also falsely promised refunds to customers who did not make money and misrepresented that no customer had ever requested a refund, the complaint alleged. In addition, the complaint alleged that Alsafari falsely represented that he was profitably trading foreign currency futures in his own account using his system, when, in fact, during the period alleged in the complaint, Alsafari never made a single trade and, in earlier trading, lost all but approximately $337 of his initial $3,500 investment. Moreover, as alleged, none of Alsafari’s clients reported making profits using his system.

The consent order entered by the court requires Alsafari to pay up to $55,000, plus interest, in restitution to his customers pursuant to a ten-year payment plan. The order also enjoins him from violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations as charged in the complaint. In consenting to entry of the order, Alsafari neither admitted nor denied the allegations of the complaint or the findings in the order.

The following Division of Enforcement staff are responsible for this case: Jack Barrett, Louis Traeger, and Myrna Morganstern.

Media Contact
Jack Barrett, Regional Counsel
Western Regional Office
Division of Enforcement
(310) 443-4700

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