Release: 5170-06

For Release: March 20, 2006

US Commodity Futures Trading Commission Charges Las Vegas, Nevada, Resident Richard McCall With Fraud

CFTC Alleges that McCall, Doing Business As The Mastery Group International, Fraudulently Solicited Clients for Futures Trading Workshops on the Internet

Washington, D.C.— The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the filing of an enforcement action in the United States District Court for District of Nevada against Richard McCall, doing business as The Mastery Group International, charging McCall with fraud.

The CFTC action charges McCall with offering on his Internet web site a futures trading workshop called Sabaki-Micro Trading for Futures. The complaint alleges that McCall made false and misleading statements in soliciting clients, and failed to disclose material facts about his own qualifications, futures trading experience, and the profitability of his futures trading advice.

Specifically, between March and June 2004, as alleged in the complaint, McCall made the following claims on his web site: 1) he was an experienced futures trader; with his trading results consistently ranked among “the top 5% of traders worldwide”; and 2) students following his Sabaki-Micro Trading for Futures would have “a better than 90% chance of being profitable.”

The complaint also alleges that, although McCall touted the profit potential that could be achieved by following his trading advice, he failed to disclose that he actually had traded commodity futures for only one year beginning in 2003, and that the account in which he traded experienced consistent trading losses, rather than profits.

Also, as alleged, McCall both misrepresented and failed to adequately disclose the risks of trading commodity futures contracts by claiming that “trading the financial markets is no more complicated or dangerous than operating a lemonade stand” and that “easy profits” occur using McCall’s trading advice in just a few short minutes “nearly every morning without fail.” The complaint alleges that McCall, who claims to have been a clinical psychologist and asserts he has a PhD, holds no undergraduate or graduate degrees from any educational institution.

United States District Court Judge Kent J. Dawson signed an order of preliminary injunction enjoining McCall from engaging in fraud while acting as a commodity trading advisor and prohibiting him from destroying books and records.

In its ongoing litigation, the CFTC is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement and restitution, and payment of civil monetary penalties.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members are responsible for this case: Louis Traeger, Judith McCorkle, William Janulis, Cynthia Cannon, Scott Williamson, and Rosemary Hollinger.

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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