October 25, 2011

CFTC Charges Texas Residents Linda Harris, Chance Harris and Two of Their Companies with Solicitation Fraud, Misrepresentation, and Misappropriation in Multi-Million Dollar Forex Scheme

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, charging Linda Faye Harris, Chance Domel Harris, CDH Forex Investments, LLC and CDH Global Holdings, LLC, all of Flower Mound, Texas, with solicitation fraud, making false statements, and misappropriation of investors’ funds in connection with the trading of off-exchange foreign currency (forex) contracts.

The CFTC’s complaint, filed on October 25, 2011, alleges that from August 2008 through July 2010, the defendants fraudulently solicited and accepted funds from the general public to trade pooled investments and managed accounts in off-exchange forex. As a result of defendants’ allegedly fraudulent solicitation, individuals invested over $2.2 million, of which defendants sustained substantial trading losses and misappropriated about $350,000 to pay rent on Harris’s family home, make payments on a leased BMW, and pay credit card bills, according to the complaint.

Defendants also are charged with misrepresenting the profitability of their trading programs in their promotional material and issuing false account statements to investors in the pooled account in order to perpetuate the fraud.

The CFTC complaint also charges Linda Harris with providing false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements to the National Futures Association (NFA), including falsified trading account statements and falsified bank statements, to hide the ongoing fraud from the NFA.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks a return of ill-gotten gains, restitution to defrauded customers, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the NFA.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this action are Nathan B. Ploener, Christopher Giglio, Manal Sultan, Lenel Hickson, Stephen J. Obie and Vincent A. McGonagle.

Media Contact
Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: October 25, 2011