FinTelegram has learned that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has initiated legal proceedings against Illinois-based trader Coby Young and his company, Young Emerging Strategies LLC, citing multiple regulatory breaches. The federal lawsuit outlines a series of charges including fraud, mismanagement of a commodity pool, and a series of registration and disclosure violations tied to retail foreign currency transactions.
The CFTC’s rigorous complaint seeks to enforce substantial restitution for defrauded pool participants and to mandate the disgorgement of profits derived from deceptive activities. The commission is also calling for substantial civil monetary penalties, permanent bans on trading and registration for the defendants, and a permanent injunction to prevent further infringements of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
Case Background
The accusations laid out by the CFTC detail a calculated solicitation scheme. From at least August 2019 to date, Coby Young and his firm actively recruited individuals through various channels, including a dedicated website, social media platforms, and face-to-face interactions, offering classes in retail forex trading. Some attendees of these classes were then encouraged to invest in a forex trading pool, purportedly overseen by the defendants. Investors were lured with the promise of doubling their money through astute forex trading strategies.
However, the CFTC alleges that the reality was far grimmer. An estimated $300,000 collected from hopeful participants was not employed in savvy trading but was instead siphoned off to cover personal expenses, bankroll cash withdrawals, and settle payments to other pool participants in a classic misappropriation scheme.
Adding to their transgressions, Young and his company are charged with operating without proper registration with the CFTC, neglecting to furnish pool participants with crucial disclosures, and failing to maintain necessary records.
