New York Resident Michael Kourmolis Permanently Banned From Futures Industry For Fraudulent Solicitation In CFTC Anti-Fraud Action

Washington, DC - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC CFTC The 1974 Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in the United States created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Commission protects and regulates market activities against manipulation, fraud, and abuse trade practices and promotes fairness in futures contracts. The CEA also included the Sad-Johnson Agreement, which defined the authority and responsibilities for the monitoring of financial contracts between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commiss The 1974 Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in the United States created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Commission protects and regulates market activities against manipulation, fraud, and abuse trade practices and promotes fairness in futures contracts. The CEA also included the Sad-Johnson Agreement, which defined the authority and responsibilities for the monitoring of financial contracts between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commiss Read this Term) today announced that it obtained a consent order against Michael Kourmolis, of Brooklyn, N.Y., permanently prohibiting him from engaging in any activity related to trading any commodity interests, including soliciting funds, registering with the CFTC and trading on behalf of others or himself.

The court’s order, entered on November 10, 2009, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New Year, stems from a CFTC complaint filed July 23, 2003, against defendants Kourmolis, Thomas Qualls, and International Foreign Currency, Inc. (IFC) (see CFTC Press Release 4825-03, July 30, 2003). The CFTC’s litigation continues against IFC and Qualls.

The CFTC complaint alleged, and the court’s order finds, that Kourmolis fraudulently solicited customers to open accounts at IFC to trade foreign currency futures contracts. The order finds that in his solicitations, Kourmolis falsely told at least one customer that because of IFC’s “large fund and our banks and institutions overseas,” IFC had the ability to “maximize profit potential while also minimizing capital risk.” Kourmolis also misleadingly represented in writing that customers would have personal accounts and that their funds were insured by a bank for up to $25 million.

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