Release:#3986-97

For Release:January 28, 1997

CFTC Complaint Charges New York Forex Ex-Center Corp. and Two Individuals with Fraud, Illegally Offering and Selling Futures Contracts, Bucketing Orders, Commingling and Embezzling Customer Funds, and Failing to Register

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced today the filing of an administrative complaint against New York Forex Ex-Center Corporation (a/k/a N.Y. Forex), Peter T. Lai ,and Andrew Scudiero.

The seven-count administrative complaint alleges that, between June 1993 and May 1995, N.Y. Forex and Lai violated various provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations by fraudulently soliciting customers, illegally offering and selling futures contracts, commingling and converting customer funds, and bucketing orders.

Specifically, the administrative complaint alleges that N.Y. Forex and Lai committed fraud by, among other things, misrepresenting the risk involved in trading through N.Y. Forex and misrepresenting the accessibility that customers would have to funds invested with N.Y. Forex. Additionally, the complaint alleges that N.Y. Forex operated as an unregistered Futures Commission Merchant and that Andrew Scudiero solicited customers as an unregistered Associated Person (AP) in violation of the CEA and CFTC regulations.

Sanctions available to the CFTC include, a cease and desist order prohibiting the respondents from violating the Federal commodity law, restitution and civil monetary penalties of up to $100,000, or triple the monetary gain to respondents, for each violation of the CEA or CFTC regulations. In addition, the CFTC may prohibit the defendants from trading on any futures exchange and to require all such exchanges to refuse the respondents all trading privileges.

N. Y. Forex was registered with the CFTC as a Commodity Trading Advisor, and Lai was registered as an AP of N.Y. Forex from May 20, 1994 until August 2, 1995. Scudiero has never been registered with the Commission in any capacity.