DOJ urges victims of binary options fraudster Jason Scharf to submit statements
Victim Impact Statements have to be submitted no later than July 29, 2019.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has published information for victims of binary options fraudster Jason Benjamin Scharf.
In October last year, Scharf was charged in an information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in November 2018. As part of his guilty plea, Scharf admitted that from February 2013 through December 2015, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of Citrades as the company’s CEO, and that he agreed with his co-conspirators to induce investors to purchase binary options based on materially misleading misrepresentations and omissions.
In addition, Scharf admitted that representatives of Citrades falsely claimed to be representing the interests of investors in binary options, when in reality they were representing the financial interests of Citrades. Scharf further admitted that while Citrades marketed itself as a trading platform through which binary options could be traded, investors were not actually trading with other investors. Instead, they were investing in transactions whose parameters, including the “strike price” associated with the binary option, were set by a separate company that served as a platform provider.
Scharf admitted that Citrades operated its binary options business principally out of Israel, but had representatives and co-conspirators working on its behalf in the United States. Scharf further admitted that after being served with an administrative subpoena, he deleted potentially incriminating emails from an account that he used to conduct Citrades-related business.
If you would like to submit a Victim Impact Statement (or a letter addressed to District Court Judge Wu you may do so by mailing the Victim Impact Statement (or a letter to District Court Judge Wu) no later than July 29, 2019 to: Victim Witness Unit, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 4416, Washington, DC 20530.
You also may submit the Victim Impact Statement via email at [email protected] or by fax at: (202) 514-3708.
You can find out more about the case against Jason Scharf here.
The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9, 2019.
Let’s recall that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has also taken action against Jason B. Scharf (doing business as Citrades.com and AutoTradingBinary.com) and A&J Media Partners. The CFTC charges the defendants with acting as Futures Commission Merchants (FCM) and Commodity Trading Advisors (CTA) without registration, as well as with soliciting more than $16 million in connection with illegal binary options contracts. The CFTC Complaint details the fraudulent practices of the above-mentioned binary options firms, including promises of artificially high returns, bonuses and luxurious life, followed by an end of any communication once money was deposited.
