CFTC requests expedited discovery in Forex fraud case
CFTC asks the New Jersey District Court to permit the Commission to immediately to identify assets and customers of Unique Forex, Blackbox Pulse and White Cloud Mountain, as well as their books and records.
As FinanceFeeds has reported earlier this week, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched a case against Forex fraudsters who misled customers thanks to unrealistic promises of successful trading and fake statements about (non-existent) accounts with FXCM.
According to the latest filings with the New Jersey District Court, the CFTC has sought that the Court grants its Motion for Expedited Discovery. In the document, seen by FinanceFeeds, the CFTC says the expedited discovery is necessary for the immediate identification of the Defendants’ assets and customers and for a review of the Defendants’ books and records, including bank records, to ensure that Defendants preserve all customer assets, and to allow the parties to prepare adequately for any hearing.
The list of defendants in the case, captioned Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Lanzana d/b/a Unique Forex et al (2:17-cv-06290), includes Thomas Lanzana (dba Unique Forex), Nikolay Masanko, Blackbox Pulse LLC, and White Cloud Mountain LLC.
The CFTC alleges that Lanzana, individually and as the controlling person of Blackbox Pulse and doing business as (d/b/a) Unique Forex, and Masanko, individually and as the controlling person of White Cloud Mountain, defrauded at least thirty pool customers of at least $700,000 in connection with pooled investments in retail off-exchange Forex transactions and other investments.
A big part of the fraudsters’ efforts to mislead was played by their claims that Unique Forex and Blackbox Pulse had accounts at FXCM, which was back then still active in the US FX market. In reality, no account in the name of “Blackbox Pulse, LLC” and/or “Unique Forex” existed at FXCM.
The CFTC Complaint accuses the defendants of Forex and commodity pool fraud.
If the CFTC expedited discovery motion is granted, it will allow, inter alia: taking the depositions of Defendants Lanzana and Masanko upon two business days’ notice and prior to any hearing on the CFTC’s Application, as well as issuing subpoenas to non-parties to gain information about Defendants’ customers and locate Defendants’ and their customers’ assets.
