Release: 5171-06

For Release: March 21, 2006

Fraudulent Commodity Brokers Charles Hoffecker and Charles Myers Convicted in Commodity Scheme

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Lends Assistance to the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey in Criminal Action

Washington, D.C.— The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) congratulates the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey Christopher Christie on the March 17, 2006, conviction of Charles Paul “Chip” Hoffecker and Charles Edward Myers relating to an international commodities fraud scheme and “boiler room” operation.

According to the US Attorney’s press release, Hoffecker, 53, of Pompano Beach, Florida, and Myers, 65, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and three counts each of mail fraud, following a three-month jury trial. According to the indictment issued in 2003, Hoffecker and Myers defrauded investors in precious metals, heating oil, and other commodities through Amitex Services, Ltd., Inc., a Bahamian corporation, and Global Investment Services, Inc., a domestic corporation with offices in Atlanta, Georgia.

US District Judge Katherine S. Hayden scheduled sentencing for June 26. Judge Hayden revoked Hoffecker’s bail and ordered him detained until sentencing, and increased Myers’ bail from $500,000 to $1 million and placed him on house arrest with electronic monitoring.

The CFTC’s Office of Cooperative Enforcement provided significant assistance to the Office of the US Attorney, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the US Postal Inspectors in the investigation and trial leading to these convictions. Specifically, Daniel Nathan, Mary Kaminski, and Terry Montgomery of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement provided this assistance.

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The CFTC encourages members of the public to bring to our attention any suspicious activities involving futures or commodity options, including matters involving foreign currency (forex) investments or suspicious Internet websites.

You may contact the CFTC at 1-866-FON-CFTC (1-866-366-2382), visit us at our Customer Protection web page: (/cftc/cftccustomer.htm), or fill out our Internet Report Form identifying your concerns (/enf/enfform.htm).

In addition, the CFTC publishes a series of Consumer Advisories at /cftc/cftccustomer.htm#advisory alerting the public to warning signs of possible fraudulent activity and offering precautions individuals should take before committing funds.

Media Contacts
Alan Sobba
202-418-5080

Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: April 12, 2007