A U.S. District Court has delivered a significant blow to the notorious binary options fraud scheme GreyMountain Management (GMM) led by Jonathan Cartu, Leeav Peretz, Nati Peretz, and their corporate entity, Blue Moon Investments Inc., based in Seychelles. This ruling, marking the culmination of extensive investigative efforts and reporting by FinTelegram, underscores the persistent threat of binary options fraud schemes and regulatory bodies’ relentless pursuit of justice.
The binary options scheme GreyMountain Management (GMM), run by brothers David Cartu, Jonathan Cartu, and Joshua Cartu, through an Irish entity and many other entities and brands was probably the biggest scam scheme in the binary options industry. With the Final Order, the U.S. CFTC has at least once ensured that the fraudulent nature of GMM has been officially established. Whether the defendants will pay the money is rather uncertain.
The U.S. court’s comprehensive judgment found the defendants culpably engaged in the illegal offering of off-exchange binary options, alongside committing fraud related to these illicit activities. Stemming from a case initiated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on September 2, 2020, this legal proceeding has meticulously addressed the multifaceted dimensions of the fraud perpetrated by the Cartu brothers and their associates.
Read our reports on the Greymountain Management here on FinTelegram
The Monetary Sanctions
Highlighting the severity of their offenses, the court has imposed a series of stringent penalties and prohibitions on the defendants, including a combined order to pay $51,155,645 in disgorgement and a substantial civil monetary penalty amounting to $153,466,935. Furthermore, the judgment enforces a permanent ban on the defendants, preventing them from registering with the CFTC and partaking in trading on any registered entity.
The legal findings reveal that since September 26, 2015, the defendants systematically exploited investors through an internet platform they operated, engaging in the illegal offer of binary options. The court discovered that the defendants made misleading representations regarding the risk associated with binary options and manipulated trade outcomes to ensure customer losses, thereby securing illicit profits for themselves. Through this elaborate scheme, more than $51 million was fraudulently extracted from U.S. customers.
This case’s resolution benefits significantly from the collaboration and assistance of various international regulatory and supervisory authorities, demonstrating the global scope of the effort required to combat such pervasive financial fraud.
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If you have any information about GreyMountain Management, the Cartu Brothers and their activities, please let us know via our whistleblowing system, Whistle42.
