December 4, 2013

Federal Court Orders Defendants Arista LLC, Abdul Sultan Walji, and Reniero Francisco, All of Southern California, to Pay over $22 Million in Restitution and Fines for Commodity Pool Fraud and Making False Statements to the CFTC

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a consent judgment and permanent injunction Order against Arista LLC (Arista), a registered Commodity Pool Operator with its principal place of business in Newport Coast, California, and against Arista’s principals, Abdul Sultan Walji (a/k/a Abdul Sultan Valji) of San Juan Capistrano, California, and Reniero Francisco of Coastal Oak, California, for carrying out a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate millions of dollars from investors in commodity futures and options, making false statements to the CFTC, and filing false quarterly reports with the National Futures Association (NFA).

The Order, entered on December 3, 2013, requires the Defendants to pay more than $8.25 million in restitution for the losses of defrauded investors.  In addition, the Order imposes civil monetary penalties of $6.45 million on Walji, $5.925 million on Francisco, and $1.54 million on Arista.  The Order further imposes permanent trading and registration bans on the Defendants and prohibits them from violating provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and a CFTC regulation, as charged.

The Court’s Order stems from a CFTC Complaint filed on December 12, 2012 and amended on May 28, 2013 (Complaint), which charged the Defendants with violating anti-fraud provisions of the CEA, making false statements to the CFTC, and filing false reports with the NFA (see CFTC Press Releases 6460-12 and 6600-13).

In the Order, the Defendants admit to all of the Order’s findings and all of the allegations in the CFTC’s Complaint.  The Order finds that, from at least February 2010 through January 2012, the Defendants collected funds from 39 investors totaling more than $9.5 million, of which the Defendants paid themselves $4.125 million in purported fees and lost more than $4.8 million trading in futures and options.  The Defendants also provided false quarterly statements to the investors, violated the CEA’s registration requirements, and, after subsequently registering, provided false reports to the NFA.  Further, in September 2011, the Defendants misrepresented certain account balances, asset values, and fee calculations in a letter sent in response to requests for information from the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement.  The Order enforces the false statements provision of the CEA, which was added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

In a related criminal proceeding, Walji and Francisco each pled guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges and were sentenced, respectively, to 151 months and 97 months of imprisonment.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the NFA.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Michael P. Geiser, Laura A. Martin, Douglas K. Yatter, Philip D. Rix, Lenel Hickson, and Manal M. Sultan.

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CFTC Fraud Awareness & Prevention Information

The CFTC has issued several customer protection Fraud Advisories that provide the warning signs of fraud, including Commodity Pool Fraud.  The CFTC Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory warns customers about a type of fraud that involves individuals and firms, often unregistered, offering investments in commodity pools.  Customers can report suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws, to the CFTC Division of Enforcement via a Toll-Free Hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382) or an online form. 

Media Contact
Dennis Holden
202-418-5088
 

Last Updated: December 4, 2013