Release: 5624-09
For Release: February 27, 2009

Anthony Ramunno, Jr., formerly of Alpharetta, Georgia, and His Company, Renaissance Asset Management LLC, Fined and Sanctioned in a $21 Million Ponzi Scheme

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that a federal district court has ordered Anthony Ramunno, Jr. formerly of Alpharetta, Georgia, to pay a $5.8 million civil monetary penalty for operating an illegal commodity pool Ponzi scheme in which over 90 public investors lost over $21 million. The district court also issued a similar order against Renaissance Asset Management LLC (Renaissance), the company through which Ramunno operated his scheme. That order requires the company to repay investors $21.2 million of the funds they had lost, imposes a civil monetary penalty of $5.8 million, and bans the company from trading commodity futures.

Both orders were entered by U.S. District Court Judge Jack T. Camp in the Northern District of Georgia on February 13, 2009. Judge Camp had previously entered an order of permanent injunction against Ramunno on January 23, 2008, in which the court permanently banned Ramunno from trading commodity futures and banned him from registration with the CFTC.

In its February 13, 2009 order against Ramunno, the court noted that it is not ordering Ramunno to pay restitution in his individual capacity because Ramunno already is subject to an order requiring him to pay $21.2 million in criminal restitution entered in a parallel criminal proceeding, U.S. v. Ramunno, N.D. GA, Docket No. 1:07 CR 061.

The court’s orders stem from a CFTC complaint filed on January 24, 2007 (see CFTC News Release, 5281-07, January 24, 2007), which alleged, in part, that Ramunno and Renaissance issued false statements to investors, including annual reports that reflected substantial profits and false representations that the reports had been audited by an accounting firm.

Commenting on the two orders, Stephen J. Obie, the Acting Director of Enforcement for the CFTC, stated, “Here, the civil and criminal processes are working the way they are supposed to.  Anthony Ramunno now is serving a long prison sentence imposed by a criminal court and is subject to orders to repay customers and to pay a substantial civil penalty to the government.”

The CFTC would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia for its assistance.

The following CFTC staff members are responsible for this case: William Janulis, Michael Tallarico, Rosemary Hollinger, Richard Wagner, Scott Williamson and Cynthia Cannon.

Media Contacts
R. David Gary
202-418-5085

Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: February 27, 2009