CFTC Charges Entities and Individuals with $58 Million Fraud and Misappropriation Scheme

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on January 28 that it filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charging five individuals and five companies with fraud, misappropriation, and registration violations in connection with a fraudulent foreign currency (forex) scheme.

The complaint charges defendants Jase Davis of Brandon, Mississippi; Borys Konovalenko of Ukraine; Anna Shymko of Duluth, Georgia; Alla Skala of Grand Island, New York and/or Fort Erie, Canada; Timothy Stubbs of Brandon, Mississippi and/or Atlanta, Georgia; Notus LLC d/b/a ROFX, a Colorado limited liability company; Easy Com LLC d/b/a ROFX, a New Hampshire limited liability company; Global E-Advantages LLC a/k/a Kickmagic LLC d/b/a ROFX, a Delaware limited liability company and New York foreign limited liability company; Grovee LLC d/b/a ROFX, a Delaware limited liability company; and Shopostar LLC d/b/a ROFX, a Colorado limited liability company.

The complaint alleges that during the relevant period, from approximately January 2018 through September 2021, the companies, acting as a common enterprise under the control of the individual defendants, used the ROFX.net website to fraudulently solicit and misappropriate at least $58 million from U.S. and international customers for purported trading in forex.

The CFTC seeks restitution to defrauded customers, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent registration and trading bans, and permanent injunctions against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as charged.

The CFTC cautions victims that restitution orders may not result in the recovery of money lost, because the wrongdoers may not have sufficient funds or assets.