September 28, 2012

CFTC Charges Boston Resident John B. Wilson and His Company with Commodity Pool Fraud

Defendants are also charged with acting as unregistered Commodity Pool Operators

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed a civil complaint in federal district court in Boston, Massachusetts, against Boston-based John B. Wilson and his company, JBW Capital LLC (JBW). The complaint charges that from July 2007 through at least May 2010, the defendants solicited and obtained at least $1.8 million from approximately 30 participants and acted as Commodity Pool Operators without being registered as such or exempt from CFTC registration.

The CFTC complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, charges that on September 13, 2008, the defendants sent pool participants an email that falsely represented the pool’s value at approximately $2.5 million but failed to disclose that two days earlier, on September 11, 2008, the pool lost approximately $1 million. Furthermore, between September 15 and 16, 2008, the defendants allegedly lost nearly all of the remainder of the pool funds. Shortly thereafter, the defendants solicited and obtained $100,000 from a new pool participant but failed to disclose the actual losses to the new participant, according to the complaint.

The complaint charges that in September 2008, the defendants provided the new participant a false statement showing his interest in the pool to be less than four percent when, in fact, this participant’s actual share was approximately 75 percent of the pool. On December 12, 2008, the defendants allegedly sent the new participant an email that falsely claimed approximately $20,000 in profits on the participant’s contribution when, in fact, the defendants had lost most of the participant’s investment. This false email led the new participant to invest an additional $100,000, according to the complaint.

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

The Massachusetts Securities Division has filed a related case against Wilson in Massachusetts (Docket No. E-2011-0026).

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are W. Derek Shakabpa, Judith M. Slowly, David Acevedo, Stephen J. Obie, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Vincent A. McGonagle.

Media Contact
Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: September 28, 2012