France’s AMF sends information about binary options recovery scam to public prosecutor’s office
A fraudster, presenting himself as Mr Villard, has been contacting French savers and claims to be mandated by the AMF to help them recover sums they invested on a binary options platform.
FinanceFeeds has repeatedly warned its readers against falling for binary options recovery scams, as regulators in many jurisdictions are becoming increasingly aware of this type of fraudulent activities. The latest regulator to act in this respect is France’s financial markets authority AMF.
Earlier today, the French regulator said it had received reports from investors who have been approached by an individual presenting himself as Mr Villard. He claims to be mandated by the AMF to help them recover sums invested in a binary options platform.
This individual is using the AMF’s contact details, name and logo fraudulently, the regulator warns. Notably, the fraudster uses false e-mail addresses such as [email protected] and [email protected].
The savers that contacted the AMF also indicated that the individual in question knew the exact amount of the sums they invested while trading on a binary options platform and that he had information about them.
The AMF recommends that savers decline any offers from this individual. The regulator has already transmitted the information in its possession to the public prosecutor’s office in Paris (Parquet de Paris). The people that are victims of “Mr Villard’s” actions may address the prosecutor.
The warning by the French regulator is issued shortly after a similar case in the United States resulted in an indictment of a fraudster pretending to be a securities regulator employee and promising to return funds to Banc de Binary clients.
Frank Gregory Cedeno is one of the participants in a fraudulent scheme involving fake pledges for binary options trading compensations and impersonation of employees of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Cedeno was indicted last week in a federal court in Boston for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The indictment alleges that, from at least April 2016 through November 2017, Cedeno conspired with others to defraud victims by pretending to be employees of the SEC. Under that guise, members of the conspiracy allegedly demanded money from victims, most often – victims of binary options brokers and Banc de Binary. The victims were directed to send the money to members of the conspiracy, including Cedeno. The conspirators who received the money generally withdrew it from bank accounts quickly, then forwarded much of it to individuals in the Dominican Republic.
