December 18, 2014

Federal Court Orders Commodity Pool Operator and Commodity Trading Advisor AlphaMetrix, LLC to Pay $5.6 Million in Restitution and Penalties

Court Also Orders AlphaMetrix’s Parent Company, AlphaMetrix Group, LLC, to Pay $2.8 Million in Disgorgement

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on December 16, 2014, Judge Joan H. Lefkow of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a Consent Order for permanent injunction against AlphaMetrix, LLC (AlphaMetrix), a Chicago-based Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA), and its parent company AlphaMetrix Group, LLC (AlphaMetrix Group). The Order requires AlphaMetrix to pay restitution of $2.8 million and a civil monetary penalty of $2.8 million and requires AlphaMetrix Group to pay disgorgement of $2.8 million. The Order also prohibits AlphaMetrix from further violating anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), as charged.

The Order stems from CFTC charges that AlphaMetrix failed to pay at least $2.8 million in rebates owed to some of its commodity pool participants by investing the rebate funds in the pools and instead transferred the funds to its parent company, which had no entitlement to the funds. Nevertheless, AlphaMetrix sent these pool participants account statements that included the rebate funds as if they had been reinvested in the pools, even though they were not (see CFTC Press Release 6767-13, November 6, 2013).

A civil action filed by the court-appointed receiver (see Deborah Thorne, not individually but as Court-Appointed Receiver of AlphaMetrix, LLC and AlphaMetrix Group, LLC v. Kins et al., Case No. 14-2472) remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In that action, the receiver seeks to recover funds from former officers of AlphaMetrix and AlphaMetrix Group.

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 action are Stephanie Reinhart, David Terrell, Joseph Patrick, Scott Williamson, and Rosemary Hollinger. The Division thanks the CFTC’s Division of Swaps and Intermediary Oversight and the National Futures Association for their assistance in this matter.

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Last Updated: December 18, 2014