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WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee entered a consent order against Tennessee residents Michael Griffis and Amanda Griffis for fraud involving a commodity pool.
The order requires the defendants to pay $5,528,121 in restitution to defrauded victims and a $1,355,232 civil monetary penalty, totaling over $6.8 million in monetary relief. It also permanently bans them from trading and registering with the CFTC and prohibits further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as charged.
“This case is a stark warning to be cautious about whom you trust with your money,” said Charles Marvine, Acting Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Fraud and General Enforcement Task Force. “If an investment opportunity seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is, for you and anyone you bring along.”
The consent order resolves a CFTC enforcement action filed in July 2023 [See CFTC Press Release No. 8757-23].
According to the court’s findings, the Griffises – local realtors in Clarksville, Tennessee – solicited funds using their real estate connections, including clients, for a fraudulent commodity pool called “Blessings Thru Crypto.”
The couple convinced at least 145 people to contribute more than $6.5 million. They falsely claimed the funds would be used to trade commodity futures on the Apex Trading Platform with guidance from an individual known only as Coach Wendy.
In reality, the platform was an illegitimate copy of an overseas exchange, and the true identity of Coach Wendy remains unknown. More than $4 million of the pool’s funds were sent to the illegitimate overseas exchange where it was immediately sent to a variety of other accounts and offshore trading platforms. The remaining funds were misappropriated for personal expenses including paying personal debts and buying a variety of consumer goods.
The Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this matter are Elsie Robinson, Rachel Hayes, Christopher Reed, Charles Marvine, and former staff member Brett Shanks.
Fraud Advisory
The CFTC has issued several customer protection fraud advisories, including the Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory, which provides information about a type of fraud involving individuals and firms —often unregistered — offering investments in commodity pools and how customers can detect, avoid, and report these scams.
The CFTC also strongly urges the public to verify a company’s registration with the CFTC at NFA BASIC before committing funds. If unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that entity.
Report suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws to the Division of Enforcement via a toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382) or file a tip or complaint online or contact the Whistleblower Office. Whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected, paid from the Customer Protection Fund financed through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the CEA.
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