March 10, 2014

Federal Court in Illinois Imposes over $3.5 Million in Sanctions against Dimitry Vishnevetsky and his Company, Oxford Capital, for Orchestrating Commodity Fraud Schemes and Misappropriation

In a Related Criminal Action, Vishnevetsky Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a federal court Order requiring Defendants Dimitry Vishnevetsky formerly of Chicago, Illinois, and his company, Oxford Capital, LLC (Oxford) to pay a civil monetary penalty of $1,910,982 and restitution for defrauded customers totaling $1,608,327. The default judgment Order, entered by the Honorable Ruben Castillo of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on February 26, 2014, stems from a CFTC enforcement action filed on May 1, 2012, that charged the Defendants with fraud in connection with operating two commodity pools and an additional fraudulent commodity trading scheme (see CFTC Press Release 6249-12). The court’s Order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against Vishnevetsky and Oxford and prohibits them from violating provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

As a result of a parallel criminal action brought by the US Attorney’s Office, Judge Castillo on March 4, 2013 sentenced Vishnevetsky to serve six years in prison. Vishnevetsky is currently incarcerated in the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, Minnesota.

Specifically, the Order finds that, from at least the fall of 2006 through April 2012, the Defendants fraudulently solicited approximately $1.74 million from commodity pool participants and commodity customers. Vishnevetsky and Oxford defrauded pool participants by representing that their commodity pools had profitable performance records based on audited results when, in fact, they never conducted any trading for the pools, the Order finds. Furthermore, the Order finds that Vishnevetsky, individually and doing business as Hodges Trading LLC and Hodges Court Trading, defrauded other pool participants by misrepresenting that Hodges Trading issued Libor Notes and invested in commodity futures contracts to enhance the value of the purported Libor Notes. Vishnevetsky and Oxford also issued false account statements to pool participants and defrauded other customers by not opening and funding commodity trading accounts for them and issuing them fictitious account statements, the Order finds.

Defendants misappropriated at least $637,000 of customer and pool participant funds

While engaging in these fraudulent schemes, the Order finds that the Defendants misappropriated at least nearly $637,000 from pool participants and customers, which Defendants used for their own benefit.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Diane M. Romaniuk, Ava M. Gould, Heather Johnson, Scott R. Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.

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CFTC’s Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory

The CFTC has issued several customer protection Fraud Advisories that provide the warning signs of fraud, including the Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory, which 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 file a tip or complaint online.

Media Contact
Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: March 10, 2014