CFTC Charges International Enterprise with Operating a $103 Million Fraudulent Binary Options Trading Scheme

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois charging five entities and four individuals with fraud relating to a global retail binary options enterprise that targeted and victimized U.S. residents. As alleged in the complaint, the defendants executed their unlawful scheme through internet websites using fictitious trade names such as BigOption, BinaryBook, and BinaryOnline.

The CFTC’s complaint charges that from March 2014 through the present, the defendants fraudulently solicited and accepted more than $103 million in connection with their binary options trading scheme. As alleged in the complaint, the defendants have solicited individuals located throughout the U.S. and elsewhere to trade binary options through internet trading websites. The complaint further charges that the defendants have falsely stated that the binary options offered by the five defendant entities are actual transactions subject to objective market conditions when, in fact, they are mere book entries whose outcomes can and have been manipulated to force customer losses. read more »

What Life at Center of Chaos Looks Like for Argentine Businesses

Peso plunge makes prices on goods unpredictable overnight

Meltdown follows Macri’s defeat by Fernandez-Kirchner ticket

After two sovereign defaults this century, small business owners in Argentina are well versed in navigating times of crisis. But even they were left floundering by the latest rout.

The peso’s historic plunge -- it sold off for a second day, weakening 22% since Friday -- translated into overnight losses for some store owners. Others puzzled how much to pay for their basic ingredients. With presidential elections still ten weeks away, all were left wondering how much worse it can get. read more »

SEC reaches settlement with PlexCoin over ICO fraud

The settlement includes the imposition of fines on the individuals behind PlexCorps and orders that they pay disgorgement of $4.56 million.

There has been some development in the action taken by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against fraudulent scheme PlexCorps, aka PlexCoin, and the individuals behind it. According to documents filed with the New York Eastern District Court on August 9, 2019, the SEC says that the parties in the case have reached a settlement. read more »