June 22, 2016

Federal Court Orders Dante S. Giovannetti and His Companies Emini Experts, LLC and Capital Trading Concepts LLC to Pay over $2.7 Million in Restitution and Monetary Penalties for Commodity Pool Fraud and Other Violations of the Commodity Exchange Act

Relief Defendant Capital Futures LLC, Another Company Owned by Giovannetti, Ordered to Disgorge Ill-Gotten Funds

In a Related Criminal Action, Giovannetti Was Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge Paul G. Byron of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Orlando Division) entered a Default Final Judgment Order against Defendants Dante S. Giovannetti and his companies Emini Experts, LLC (Emini) and Capital Trading Concepts LLC (Capital Trading) for defrauding clients in connection with the operation of a commodity trading pool. The court’s Order requires Giovannetti, Emini, and Capital Trading jointly to pay $663,975 to defrauded customers as restitution for their losses and jointly to pay a $1,991,926 civil monetary penalty. The Order also separately imposes jointly against Emini and Giovannetti an additional $140,000 civil monetary penalty. The court also ordered Relief Defendant Capital Futures LLC, another company owned by Giovannetti, to disgorge $143,358 of ill-gotten gains.

The Order permanently enjoins Defendants from engaging in any commodity-related activity and from registering with the CFTC. The Order arises from a CFTC Complaint filed on October 30, 2014 (see CFTC Complaint and Press Release 7052-14).

Order’s Findings

The Order finds that the Defendants fraudulently solicited and misappropriated funds from commodity pool participants. The Order further finds that the Defendants concealed the fraud by issuing false account statements to investors regarding the profitability of the trading, improperly commingled investor funds, and failed to register as a commodity pool operator. The Order also finds that Giovannetti, Emini, and Capital Trading are liable as to those violations, and additionally finds that Giovannetti and Emini concealed material facts from the National Futures Association. The Order also finds that Capital Futures received at least $143,358 of investor funds.

Related Criminal Action

In a related criminal action entitled US v. Giovannetti, 15-cr-29 (M.D. Fla.), the court sentenced Giovannetti to prison for 63 months and ordered restitution in the same amounts as in the CFTC’s action. Any satisfaction of the criminal judgment will be credited against the restitution ordered.

The CFTC thanks the National Futures Association, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the United States Marshals Service, Orlando Division, and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation for their assistance.

The CFTC cautions victims that restitution orders may not result in the recovery of money lost because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets. The CFTC will continue to fight vigorously for the protection of customers and to ensure the wrongdoers are held accountable.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are David W. Oakland, Neel Chopra, Christopher Giglio, David Acevedo, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal Sultan.

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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: June 22, 2016