CFTC Secures Over $6 Million in Court-Ordered Penalties in LJM Commodity Pool Fraud Case

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has entered a consent order against Chicago-based commodity pool operators LJM Partners Ltd and LJM Management Ltd (LJM), along with former chairman Anthony J. Caine and former portfolio manager and registered AP Anish Parvataneni.

The order imposes permanent injunctive relief, civil monetary penalties, disgorgement, and equitable relief following a CFTC complaint filed in May 2021. The defendants were accused of making false and misleading statements to investors about their short options trading strategies and risk management practices between June 2016 and February 2018.

Caine and Parvataneni must pay civil penalties of $500,000 and $200,000, respectively. In addition, LJM and Caine are jointly and severally liable for $4,624,271 in disgorgement, including pre-judgment interest, while Parvataneni must pay $721,093.

The CFTC reaffirmed its warning about commodity pool fraud, alerting investors to schemes involving unregistered entities and individuals that misuse investors' funds and falsely claim high profits and low risk.

The case joins a series of enforcement actions, including a $2 million court order against Marus Todd Brisco, whom the CFTC accused of fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation of investor funds through two commodity pools.