October 7, 2014

CFTC Charges Florida-based Forex Monthly Income Fund, LLC and its Principals Jean Chauvel, Renaud Pierre-Charles, and Employee and Agent Robert Tripode with Forex Pool Fraud and Other Violations

Federal Court issues emergency order freezing assets and records

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on September 30, 2014, Judge William Dimitrouleas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued under seal an emergency Order freezing and preserving assets under the control of Jean Chauvel, Renaud Pierre-Charles, and Robert Tripode and their company Forex Monthly Income Fund, LLC (FMIF) (collectively, Defendants), a commodity pool operator based in the Miami, Florida area. The Order also prohibits the Defendants from destroying books and records and allows the CFTC immediate access to those records. The court scheduled a hearing for October 10, 2014, on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Defendants allegedly misappropriated more than $1 million of customer funds

The emergency Order is part of a CFTC civil enforcement action also filed under seal on September 30, 2014. The CFTC Complaint alleges that from as early as January 2011, Defendants fraudulently solicited more than $1.4 million from members of the public to trade foreign currency (forex) in a commodity pool by, among other things, guaranteeing pool participants a monthly return on their investment based on profits purportedly earned from forex trading. Some of the Defendants’ victims were unsophisticated investors, including senior citizens, who sought higher monthly income on their retirement savings, according to the Complaint. The Complaint also alleges that the Defendants never traded or generated any income from trading forex, but rather misappropriated more than $1 million of the pool participants’ funds.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks full restitution to defrauded pool participants, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, the payment of appropriate civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction from future violations of federal commodities laws, as charged.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Kim Bruno, Michael Loconte, Daniel Jordan, and Rick Glaser.

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CFTC’s Foreign Currency (Forex) Fraud Advisory

The CFTC has issued several customer protection Fraud Advisories that provide the warning signs of fraud, including the Foreign Currency Trading (Forex) Fraud Advisory, which states that the CFTC has witnessed a sharp rise in Forex trading scams in recent years and helps customers identify this potential fraud.

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: October 7, 2014