Securities regulators in 30 states that are members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the North American Association of Securities Administrators (NASAA) have announced that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has held Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Ikahn (formerly Jeffrey Santulan, aka Jeffrey Hill) responsible for a $68 million fraud case involving the sale of high-priced counterfeit silver coins targeting elderly and retirees.。

The order found that Safeguard Metals and Ikahn committed fraud nationwide from around October 2017 to July 2021, and that the defendants raised and received approximately $68 million in investor funds in the process.。Most of the money was raised from retirement savings raised from about 450 people to buy precious metals, mainly silver coins.。

The order found that the defendant's fraudulent scheme involved deceiving customers into buying precious metals through false and misleading statements, including statements about the risks and security of investments in traditional retirement accounts.。

The defendant also defrauded customers into buying silver coins, which were priced at a grossly inflated price that greatly exceeded the price disclosed to customers.。In addition, in order to cover up their fraudulent scheme, the defendants also misled customers about the true value of the silver coins they bought。

In addition to finding defendants liable for fraud, the order prohibits them from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations; prohibits them from future violations of state laws and regulations; prohibits them from trading or registering with the CFTC and states。The order also reserves the right to determine the amount of restitution, surrender of fines and civil penalties, to be decided by the court in the future or by mutual consent.。