Release: #4066-97 (CFTC Docket #98-1)

For Release: October 22, 1997

CFTC CHARGES GLOBAL LINK MIAMI CORPORATION AND THREE INDIVIDUALS WITH FRAUD IN THE OFFER AND SALE OF ILLEGAL FUTURES CONTRACTS

Respondents Are Also Charged With Bucketing Customer Orders,

Converting Customer Funds, and With Registration Violations

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a nine-count administrative complaint charging Global Link Miami Corporation (a/k/a Global Link Investments Inc.) of Miami, Florida, and its three principals: Leung Ka Shung (a/k/a Stephen Leung or Laing or Liang), King Keung Chan (a/k/a Eddy Chan), and Grant Lawton -- all with last known addresses in Miami, with fraudulently selling illegal foreign currency futures contracts to the general public, among other violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations. The respondents solicited approximately $56,000 from members of the public through their Miami-based foreign currency trading operation, according to the complaint.

Leung, Chan, and Lawton are the co-founders of Global Link Miami Corporation (Global Link). None of the respondents has ever been registered with the CFTC.

The CFTC complaint charges that between May and October 1996, Global Link, Leung, and Lawton offered and sold illegal foreign currency futures contracts; cheated and defrauded customers in connection with the offer and sale of such contracts, including bucketing customer orders; and misappropriated and converted customer funds and commingled customer funds with Global Link funds. In addition, these respondents are charged with violating the CFTC's registration requirements by acting as unregistered futures commission merchants. Chan is charged with aiding and abetting certain of the alleged fraudulent conduct and with failing to register with the CFTC.

Specifically, the fraud charges in the complaint allege that Global Link, Leung, and Lawton defrauded customers by, among other things:

-- misappropriating customer funds and using those funds for personal and business expenses; and

-- misrepresenting (1) Global Link's affiliations with various trading and investment companies worldwide, (2) the risk of loss involved in trading through Global Link, and (3) the profitability of trading through Global Link.

A public hearing is to be held to determine whether the allegations against the respondents are true and to determine what sanctions should be imposed. Possible CFTC sanctions include cease and desist orders prohibiting the respondents from violating provisions of the CEA and CFTC regulations; trading prohibitions; restitution of customer losses; and civil penalties of not more than the higher of $100,000 or triple the monetary gain to the respondents for each violation of the CEA and CFTC regulations.