Washington, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Cody Malosi Wilson of Idaho Falls, Idaho for failing to register as a commodity pool operator (CPO) and failing to comply with CFTC regulations regarding CPOs. The order requires Wilson to pay a $150,000 civil monetary penalty and to cease and desist from any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) or CFTC regulations, as charged.

Case Background

The order finds that from approximately August 2015 to October 2018, Wilson operated commodity pools that he ran under various names, including Young Millionaires, Simple Wealth, and Simple Wallet. In connection with those pools, Wilson solicited and accepted funds from pool participants for the purpose of trading binary options on foreign currency pairs. Wilson used interstate commerce to operate the pools and solicit and accept funds from pool participants, but failed to register as a CPO as required.

The order also finds that Wilson violated CFTC regulations by receiving funds from pool participants via accounts in his name, commingling pool funds with his own property, and failing to operate each commodity pool as a separate legal entity from himself.

The Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this case are Michelle Bougas, Brian A. Hunt, Diana Dietrich, James H. Holl III, Erica Bodin, and Rick Glaser.

CFTC’s Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory

The CFTC has issued several customer protection Fraud Advisories, including the Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory, which warns customers about a type of fraud involving individuals and firms, often unregistered, offering investments in commodity pools.

The CFTC also strongly urges the public to verify a company’s registration with the CFTC before committing funds. If unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that entity. A company’s registration status can be found using NFA BASIC.

Customers and other individuals can report suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws, to the Division of Enforcement via a toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382), file a tip or complaint online or contact the Whistleblower Office. Whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected paid from the Customer Protection Fund financed through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the CEA.