Release: 4930-04
For Release: May 21, 2004

COURT ENTERS DEFAULT JUDGMENT AGAINST FLORIDA FOREIGN CURRENCY FIRM AND ITS OFFICERS GRANTING OVER $350,000 IN RESTITUTION TO CUSTOMERS IN 2003 CFTC ENFORCEMENT ACTION

Judgment Entered Against Defendants Bibas Levy Corp., Zacarias Bibas, and Hassan Sharam Stemming From CFTC Charges That They Made False Profit Claims and Misrepresented their Performance Record and the Risks of Foreign Currency Futures Trading

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered an order of final default judgment against Bibas Levy Corp., a Miami, Florida company, Zacarias Bibas, a resident of Coral Gables, and Hassan Sharam, a resident of Miami, defendants in a CFTC enforcement action originally filed on October 7, 2003 (See CFTC News Release 4858-03, October 23, 2003). The CFTC charged that the defendants used the telephone and their Internet website to fraudulently solicit the retail public to trade illegal, off-exchange foreign currency futures (forex) contracts.

The default judgment permanently enjoins defendants from engaging in any activity relating to commodity interest trading and from engaging in any conduct that violates federal commodities laws, as alleged in the complaint. The judgment also requires that the defendants, jointly and severally, repay over $350,000 to former customers of Bibas Levy Corp. The judgment further requires the defendants to disgorge $100,000 in ill-gotten gains and to pay $120,000 in civil penalties.

The CFTC charged that, from February 2003, the defendants solicited customers by telling them that they could make large profits in a short period of time with minimal risk trading Euros, British Pound Sterling, Japanese Yen, and Swiss Francs – claiming that customers should expect annual returns of over 20 percent. Defendants told customers that Zacarias Bibas had a successful track record of trading currencies on behalf of customers, when, in fact, the defendants’ trading resulted in losses of over $346,000 to customers, the complaint alleged.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case were: Gretchen L. Lowe, Elizabeth Chandler, Karen Kenmotsu, and Lenora Kay Majors-Guy. The State of Florida, Department of Financial Services, in Miami, Florida also assisted the CFTC staff in this investigation.

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Media Contacts
Alan Sobba
(202) 418-5080
Dennis Holden
(202) 418-5088
Office of External Affairs

Staff Contact
Richard B. Wagner
Deputy Director
CFTC Division of Enforcement
(202) 418-5379

Related Document
Final Default Judgment