CFTC Penalizes Get Money Tradez LLC and Jeffrey Carmon Jr. Over $520,000 in Forex Pool Fraud

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an order settling charges against Texas-based Get Money Tradez LLC (GMT) and its managing member, Jeffrey Carmon, Jr. (also known as Jeffery Carmon, Jr.). The respondents have been ordered to pay more than $520,000 in combined restitution and civil penalties for executing a fraudulent forex trading pool scheme and failing to comply with mandatory registration rules. According to the CFTC's findings, beginning around July 2021, GMT and Carmon solicited approximately $950,000 from 19 members of the public to invest in two retail forex trading pools. To entice investors, Carmon falsely claimed to be an extraordinarily successful foreign exchange trader. In reality, Carmon incurred net trading losses in 17 out of 19 months between January 2020 and July 2021 while trading forex and commodity contracts for difference. In addition to misrepresenting trading performance, Carmon commingled investor assets and misappropriated at least $113,000 of investor funds via unauthorized cash withdrawals. These stolen funds were redirected to cover personal expenses, including retail store purchases, restaurant bills, and payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Furthermore, neither entity was registered with the regulator: GMT failed to register as a Commodity Pool Operator (CPO), and Carmon failed to register as an associated person of a CPO. Under the terms of the settlement order, GMT and Carmon are jointly and severally liable to pay $262,000 in restitution to victims, along with an additional $262,000 civil monetary penalty. The order also mandates that both respondents cease and desist from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and imposes permanent bans prohibiting them from trading in CFTC-regulated markets or registering with the agency. The CFTC warns prospective investors to exercise caution when dealing with retail forex offerings and to independently verify the registration credentials of any individual or entity through the National Futures Association (NFA) BASIC database before depositing funds.