The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a judgment in absentia against foreign exchange and binary options fraudster Patrick Wonsey, moving for damages, civil fines and permanent injunctions.。

CFTC asks court to order Wonsey to compensate pool participants for losses。Here, the pool participant's loss was caused by Wonsey's near-default。Wonsey misappropriated funds of pool participants in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 6 (b) (2) (a) and (c)。

restitution is defined as the amount of money illegally obtained by the wrongdoer as a result of his fraudulent misconduct。In the case, Wonsey misappropriated about $2,700,431 from pool participants.。

According to the CFTC's motion, the case warrants a substantial fine against Wonsey for engaging in dishonest and fraudulent conduct in alleged retail foreign exchange and commodity options trading, misappropriating client funds and ignoring his regulatory responsibilities as CPO, repeatedly violating multiple provisions of the Act.。

As a result, the CFTC asked the court to order Wonsey to pay a fine of $8,101,293, which is equivalent to three times the $2,700,431 pool participant funds that Wonsey misappropriated.。

The lawsuit was filed on September 26, 2023.。The CFTC alleges that from at least January 2017 to September 2022, Wonsey conducted business as an individual and under the name of One Bell & Associates, fraudulently defrauding at least $3.4 million from at least 50 individuals to conduct retail foreign exchange trading and binary options trading with margin or leverage on and off exchanges regulated by the CFTC.。

In his solicitation, the defendant misrepresented his past trading achievements, the chances of future profits, the frequency of payments, and that there was no risk in trading retail forex, digital assets or binary options through him.。The CFTC also accused Wonsey of embezzling at least $2.7 million in pool participant funds.。

In addition, the CFTC alleges that the defendant mixed the funds of pool participants with his own funds, failed to register as a commodity pool operator, and failed to establish and operate a commodity pool as required。