Release: 5142-05
For Release: December 7, 2005

Washington State Commodity Advisory Firm Trade Risk Management and Firm President James Maggio Charged With Fraud

Washington, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it filed an anti-fraud enforcement action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma against Trade Risk Management, LLC (Trade Risk) and James A. Maggio of Vancouver, Washington.

The CFTC complaint, filed on November 25, 2005, alleges that Maggio and Trade Risk fraudulently solicited customers to purchase a futures charting service known as Sigma Band Charting (Sigma Band) through the Internet website www.traderiskmanagement.com by falsely claiming that, among other things, use of the Sigma Band charts would give customers a 99 percent chance of making money every time they traded. Maggio and Trade Risk allegedly attracted over 420 subscribers, and the firm collected approximately $400,000 in customer fees.

The CFTC is seeking a permanent injunction against Maggio and Trade Risk, repayment to defrauded customers, the return of all ill-gotten gains from the defendants, and monetary penalties.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members are responsible for this case: Todd Kelly, Peter M. Haas, Paul G. Hayeck, and Joan Manley.

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The CFTC encourages members of the public to bring to our attention any suspicious activities involving futures or commodity options, including matters involving foreign currency (forex) investments or suspicious Internet websites.�

You may contact the CFTC at 1-866-FON-CFTC (1-866-366-2382),�visit us at our Customer Protection web page (www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftccustomer.htm), or fill out our Internet Report Form identifying your concerns (www.cftc.gov/enf/enfform.htm).

In addition, the CFTC publishes a series of Consumer Advisories at http://www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftccustomer.htm#advisory alerting the public to warning signs of possible fraudulent activity and offering precautions individuals should take before committing funds.

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Media Contacts
Alan Sobba
(202) 418-5080
Dennis Holden
(202) 418-5088
Office of External Affairs

Staff Contact
Paul Hayeck
Associate Director
CFTC Division of Enforcement
(202) 418-5312

Related Document
Complaint