Release: 5328-07

For Release: May 1, 2007

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Charges Illinois Resident Anthony A. Demasi and His Company, Tsunami Capital, LLC, with Fraud

CFTC Obtains Federal Court Order Freezing Assets and Preventing the Destruction of Books and Records of Defendants

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the filing of a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Anthony A. Demasi and his company, Tsunami Capital, LLC, both of Chicago, Illinois. On April 26, 2007, the Honorable Robert W. Gettleman, U.S. District Judge, issued a restraining order prohibiting the defendants from destroying documents or denying CFTC staff access to books and records. The order also freezes defendants’ assets.

The CFTC complaint, filed April 25, 2007, alleges that, from at least December 2004 to the present, Demasi and Tsunami Capital fraudulently solicited and accepted at least $300,000 from at least three individuals for the purpose of trading financial futures as part of a commodity pool called Tsunami Lakeshore.

As alleged, Demasi convinced at least one pool participant to invest by providing him with a false track record that showed two years of trading profits, when, in fact, Tsunami Lakeshore did not have an active account during most of the period and had lost money during the months when it did. The complaint also alleges that Demasi and Tsunami Capital distributed false statements to at least two pool participants throughout 2005 showing that their investments were earning substantial profits in 2005 and the first quarter of 2006. However, the Tsunami Lakeshore trading account was closed in January 2005, and the only other trading accounts maintained by Tsunami Capital sustained losses or were less profitable than represented in five of the six quarterly statements they received.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC complaint seeks orders requiring the defendants to provide the CFTC with continuing access to books and records and to make an accounting as such information will be required to determine the actual amounts of net contributions and profits or losses. The complaint also requests that the court issue orders of preliminary and permanent injunction against the defendants, a return of alleged ill-gotten gains, repayments to defrauded investors, monetary penalties and other relief.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff is responsible for this case: Susan Gradman, Bill Heitner, Cynthia Cannon, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.

Media Contacts
Ianthe Zabel
202-418-5080

Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: May 8, 2007