November 6, 2014

Federal Court in Florida Freezes Assets of Emini Experts LLC, Capital Trading Concepts LLC, Dante S. Giovannetti, and Relief Defendant Capital Futures LLC in Ongoing Fraud Scheme

CFTC Charges Defendants with Fraudulently Soliciting at Least $700,000 from Investors

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that The Honorable Paul G. Byron of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, on October 30, 2014, entered a restraining Order freezing assets and prohibiting the destruction or concealment of books and records of Defendants Emini Experts LLC (Emini), Capital Trading Concepts LLC (Capital Trading), and Dante S. Giovannetti, all of Orlando, Florida, and Relief Defendant Capital Futures LLC (Capital Futures). Emini is registered with the CFTC as a Commodity Trading Advisor and Giovannetti is its registered Associated Person. Capital Futures and Capital Trading have never been registered with the CFTC.

The Court’s Order arises out of a Complaint, also filed on October 30, 2014. The CFTC Complaint alleges that from at least July 2013 to the present, Emini, Capital Trading, and their owner, Giovannetti, have used fictitious trading account statements to fraudulently solicit at least $700,000 from investors. Despite repeated requests, they have retained and not returned any of those funds to investors since at least May 2014, according to the Complaint. As alleged, the false trading account statements show tens of millions of dollars in fictitious profits from trading E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts and over $53 million in cash on deposit as of July 31, 2014. Further, the Complaint alleges that the Defendants acted as unregistered Commodity Pool Operators, and the Defendants and Relief Defendant Capital Futures commingled pool funds with non-pool property.

Moreover, Giovannetti and Emini allegedly concealed material facts from the National Futures Association (NFA) regarding a bank account about which the NFA was inquiring and which the Defendants had used in connection with their solicitation of investors. Investor funds were transferred to Relief Defendant Capital Futures, to which Capital Futures has no legitimate claim, according to the Complaint.

The Court has set a hearing date of November 7, 2014, on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction. In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, restitution for the benefit of defrauded pool participants, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and a permanent injunction from future violations of federal commodities laws, as charged.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the NFA.

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

Media Contact
Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: November 6, 2014