Court urges individual behind FX scam Simple Wealth to respond in action brought by CFTC
Cody M. Wilson is given until February 12, 2020, to explain why the Court should not compel him to comply with the Commission’s administrative subpoena.
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may be getting closer to obtaining the information it seeks regarding suspected Forex and binary options scam Simple Wealth, as the Columbia District Court has issued an order that supports the efforts of the regulator.
The order, signed by Judge Carl. J. Nichols on January 22, 2020, and seen by FinanceFeeds, urges Cody M. Wilson, the individual behind Simple Wealth to respond.
On or before February 12, 2020, Cody Wilson is required to show cause why the Court should not compel him to comply with the Commission’s administrative subpoena issued to him on November 27, 2018. Respondent should address whether the Court has personal jurisdiction over Respondent and whether the Court is the proper venue for this action.
The CFTC issued the Subpoena based on information that suggested that Wilson may have misappropriated customer funds, or fraudulently solicited customers to pay (1) for training and trading tips regarding Forex or (2) for Wilson to trade binary options and Forex on customers’ behalves.
Mr. Wilson solicited customers through a variety of ventures, including an entity called Simple Wealth LLC.
Information obtained by the CFTC indicates that Mr. Wilson and his associates may have maintained a number of social media accounts to solicit customers, including Simple Wealth, Simple Wealth Academy, Team Unemployable, Young Millionaires and Onthehouse. Mr. Wilson and the Cody Wilson Entities offered products and services that went by a variety of names, including Simple Wallet, Simple Wealth Auto Trading, Greener Pastures, and the Simple Wealth Signal Group.
According to complaints received by the Commission, prospective customers were told that investing with Mr. Wilson or the Cody Wilson Entities would yield a significant payout in a short period time.
Certain individuals told the CFTC that they were unable to make withdrawals from their accounts with Mr. Wilson and Simple Wealth upon request. The investigative team obtained information suggesting that at some point in 2018, Mr. Wilson told customers that his trading accounts had been hacked, that all of the investors’ money had been stolen, and that neither he nor Simple Wealth would be able to return the individuals’ original investment or pay the returns the individuals had been promised.
In February 2019, Wilson produced a handful of documents in response to the Subpoena, but he has not responded to a majority of the Subpoena’s requests, and his limited response to the other requests appears entirely inadequate.
On January 15, 2020, as FinanceFeeds reported, the Commission informed the Columbia District Court that there have been no new developments with respect to Wilson’s non-compliance with the Subpoena. Wilson has not reached out to the CFTC to cure his non-compliance, or reschedule his investigative testimony, nor has Wilson produced any additional documents in response to the Subpoena.
In an ongoing effort to contact Wilson, CFTC staff has also been in touch with Federal authorities in Idaho. The information available to the Federal authorities in Idaho indicates that Wilson still resides in Idaho, albeit at a different location than the one at which he was served with the Subpoena.
