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Federal Court Orders Over $204 Million in Sanctions Against Blue Moon Investments in Massive Binary Options Scam
A U.S. Federal Court has ordered Blue Moon Investments Inc. and its operators to pay over $204 million for running an illegal binary options scheme that manipulated trades and defrauded investors.
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A federal court has entered a final default judgment and permanent injunction ordering over $204 million in monetary sanctions against a fraudulent binary options enterprise. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas found Seychelles-registered Blue Moon Investments Inc. and individual operators Jonathan Cartu, Leeav Peretz, and Nati Peretz—all believed to be residents of Israel—liable for operating an illegal, off-exchange binary options scheme.
The court ordered the defendants to pay $51,155,645 in disgorgement jointly and severally, alongside a civil monetary penalty of $153,466,935. Additionally, the defendants face permanent bans on registering with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and trading on any CFTC-registered entities.
According to the court findings, the defendants operated and maintained an internet trading platform beginning around September 26, 2015. Through this unregistered platform, they offered illegal, off-exchange binary options to the public. The operators misled customers regarding the actual risk levels of binary options trading while actively manipulating trade outcomes on the platform to force customer losses and capture profits for themselves. In total, the fraudulent scheme misappropriated more than $51.1 million from victims in the United States.
The regulatory resolution follows enforcement efforts by the CFTC with international cooperation from numerous global regulators, including financial authorities in the UK, Australia, Germany, Cyprus, Belize, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Ontario, and Switzerland.
Regulators warn traders that fraudulent binary options platforms frequently deploy deceptive tactics, including trade result manipulation, refusal to credit accounts, denial of withdrawal requests, and identity theft. Investors are strongly urged to verify the registration status of any financial trading firm through official registries, such as NFA BASIC, prior to depositing funds.