Release: 5331-07

For Release: May 4, 2007

Defendants in Fraud Action Brought by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Ordered to Pay More than $14 Million in Civil Penalties and Disgorgement

California Residents Monica Schiera Main and Brian Main and Their Corporations Gemancer Inc., Gemancer II Inc., and Trade Pro Inc., Fraudulently Solicited More than $3 Million from Customers

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that on April 27, 2007, Judge Christina A. Snyder of the United States District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent order of permanent injunction against Monica Schiera Main and her husband, Brian Main, both of Valencia, California. The order, among other things, requires the couple to pay $1.5 million in civil penalties. In a December 11, 2006 order, Judge Snyder entered judgment against several companies owned and controlled by the couple, requiring disgorgement and civil monetary penalties of $12.5 million.

The orders stem from a complaint filed by the CFTC on April 12, 2005, which charged that, between April 2001 and April 2005, Schiera Main and Brian Main fraudulently solicited and promoted commodity trading advice, services, and software through Gemancer, Inc., Gemancer II, Inc., and Trade Pro, Inc., (Gemancer Common Enterprise), while other companies the couple owned and controlled – namely, Moni, Inc.; Ria Riviera, Inc.; Body Blasters, Inc.; Success Direct, Inc.; and Tri Lynx, Inc. – unjustly received funds as a result of the fraud.

According to the orders, both Schiera Main and Brian Main held themselves out as successful commodity trading advisors and received approximately $3 million from more than 1,200 customers, collected through fraudulent guarantees of profitable trading. The orders also state that Schiera Main claimed to have become a millionaire from trading commodities using her trading system, when, in fact, she lost money trading. Moreover, the orders state that the defendants failed to disclose that Schiera Main filed for bankruptcy in March of 2003 and was previously convicted of criminal fraud, as required by the Commodity Exchange Act.

The orders prohibit all defendants from engaging in any commodity-related activity, including soliciting funds, and from engaging in or directing the trading of any commodity futures or options accounts for other persons or entities.

The April 27, 2007, order requires Schiera Main and Brian Main to pay civil monetary penalties of $1.29 million and more than $200,000, respectively. The December 11, 2006, order requires corporate defendants to pay a $9 million civil monetary penalty and to disgorge ill-gotten gains of $3 million. The five corporate relief defendants were ordered to repay approximately $500,000 traceable to the Gemancer Common Enterprise fraud.

The following Division of Enforcement staff members were responsible for this case: Jennifer S. Diamond, Joy McCormack, Susan Gradman, Venice Bickham, Scott R. Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.

Media Contacts
Ianthe Zabel
202-418-5080

Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: May 8, 2007