Release: 4805-03
For Release: June 26, 2003

FEDERAL COURT ORDERS LOS ANGELES FOREIGN CURRENCY FIRMS AND THEIR PRESIDENT TO PAY $759,956 IN CFTC ACTION

Rego Gainer Financial, Inc., Rego Gainer, Inc. and Kwok Lun Lam Ordered to Pay Restitution and Civil Penalties

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that a Los Angeles Federal district court entered an order of default judgment in its favor against defendants Rego Gainer Financial, Inc. (Rego Gainer Financial); Rego Gainer, Inc. (Rego Gainer); and Kwok Lun Lam (Lam), the President of Rego Gainer Financial and Rego Gainer. The order requires defendants to make repayments to investors and to pay a civil penalty resulting from violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). All of the defendants are permanently enjoined from further violating the CEA.

The court’s order, entered on June 19, 2003, results from a complaint filed by the CFTC against Rego Gainer Financial, Rego Gainer, and Lam in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on February 19, 2002 (see CFTC News Release 4611-02, February 27, 2002).

The court’s order finds that, from at least December 21, 2000 to February 19, 2003, the defendants solicited and accepted funds from unsophisticated retail customers to invest in illegal forex futures contracts. The order further finds that defendants solicited customers by running employment ads in a local Korean newspaper, the Korea Daily, and at www.hotjobs.com seeking persons interested in profiting in the international currency markets. Customers were solicited to open personal trading accounts and to make initial investments of $10,000 each.

In addition to permanently prohibiting defendants from future violations of the CEA, the court’s order of default judgment requires defendants to pay restitution to injured customers in the amount of $463,467, plus prejudgment interest of $33,791 and post judgment interest from the date of the order. Defendants are also required to pay a civil penalty of $262,698.

This litigation was part of a CFTC nationwide crackdown of foreign currency scams.

The CFTC Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this action was: Edwin J. Yoshimura, Bruce P. Gale, and Jack Barrett.

Media Enforcement Contact:
Jack Barrett, CFTC Western Regional Office
Regional Counsel, (310) 443-4701

�

# # #