CFTC goes after operator of fraudulent Forex scheme GNTFX
Since at least 2015, Casper Mikkelsen engaged in a fraudulent scheme to solicit money from at least 101 individuals and entities who invested their funds with GNTFX.
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched an action against Casper Mikkelsen, a/k/a “Carsten Nielsen” a/k/a “Brian Thomson” a/k/a “Thomas Jensen” a/k/a “Casper Muller”, the individual behind fraudulent FX scheme GNTFX.
The complaint, filed today with the New York Southern District Court and seen by FinanceFeeds, alleges that, since at least 2015 and continuing to the present, Mikkelsen engaged in a fraudulent scheme to solicit and misappropriate money from at least 101 individuals and entities who invested their funds with GNTFX to trade retail leveraged or margined Forex.
Mikkelsen promised clients he would use his discretion to trade forex on their behalf and clients in turn invested at least $1.5 million. Rather than using those funds for forex trading as promised, Mikkelsen instead misappropriated at least some clients’ funds.
Mikkelsen, who was not registered with the Commission in any capacity, made material misrepresentations and omissions to clients, including, for instance, that clients’ account statements accurately reflected profits and losses of forex trades executed on their behalf. Furthermore, in order to induce clients to invest in this scheme, Mikkelsen provided clients and/or gave them access to his historical trading performance results that reported fictitious profits.
The defendant is alleged to have misappropriated at least $737,000 of client funds for his personal use. In sum, clients lost a total of at least $1.19 million and the remainder of client funds was used for purposes other than trading forex including, in part, being returned to some clients as is typical in a Ponzi scheme.
In order to conceal the misappropriation of client funds and continue to perpetuate this scheme, Mikkelsen was responsible for generating fake account trading statements for clients showing fictitious forex trades and profits. Mikkelsen then provided clients access to these fake account statements.
The CFTC charges Casper Mikkelsen with violations of Section 4b(a)(2)(A), (B), and (C) of the Commodity Exchange Act (“Act”), 7 U.S.C. § 6b(a)(2)(A), (B), (C) (2018), and Commission Regulation (“Regulation”) 5.2(b), 17 C.F.R. § 5.2(b) (2019) (“ Forex Fraud Violations”). Casper Mikkelsen is also alleged to have violated Section 4m(1) of the Act, 7 U.S.C § 6m(1) (2018), and Regulation 5.3(a)(3), 17 C.F.R. § 5.3(a)(3) (2019) (“CTA Registration Violations”), and Section 4o(1)(A) and (B) of the Act, 7 U.S.C. § 6o(1)(A), (B) (2018) (“CTA Fraud Violation”).
In this action, the CFTC seeks civil monetary penalties, and remedial ancillary relief, including, but not limited to, trading and registration bans, restitution, disgorgement, rescission, pre- and post-judgment interest, and such other and further relief as the Court may deem appropriate.
