October 1, 2012

Federal Court Orders Oscar Hernandez and His Companies to Pay $1.4 Million in Penalties and Bars Him from the Commodities Industry for Operating a Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme

In a related criminal proceeding, Hernandez sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it obtained a federal court order requiring defendants Oscar Hernandez of Miami, Fla., and Midway Trading Company, LLC (Midway) and Conquest Investment Group, Inc. (Conquest), both Florida companies owned and controlled by Hernandez, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges that they operated a multi-million dollar commodity pool Ponzi scheme and misappropriated customer funds for personal use (see CFTC Press Release 6118-11, September 30, 2011).

The consent order of permanent injunction was entered on September 27, 2012, by Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants and permanently prohibits the defendants from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

Specifically, the order finds that, beginning in or about 2005 and continuing through about December 2008, the defendants fraudulently solicited over $3.8 million from pool participants by telling them that Hernandez had developed a risk-free commodity trading system that would guarantee annual returns of from 20 percent to 60 percent. Defendants misappropriated approximately $1 million of those funds to pay for personal expenses, including mortgages, luxury car payments, and American Express bills, the court’s order finds.

In a related criminal proceeding in November 2011, Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and commodities fraud.  In March 2012, Hernandez was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to pool participants (U.S. v. Hernandez, 11-20686-CR-Lenard, S.D. Fla.).

The CFTC thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their assistance in this matter.

The CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Jennifer E. Smiley, Judith McCorkle, Joseph Konizeski, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.

Media Contact
Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: October 1, 2012