CFTC charges unregulated Forex Manager

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the filing of a civil enforcement action in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against defendants Marina Bühler-Miko (Bühler-Miko) and her company, Coventry Asset Managers, LLC (Coventry), both of Washington, DC. The CFTC complaint charges that Bühler-Miko and Coventry fraudulently solicited members of the general public to trade off-exchange foreign currency (Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term) contracts on a leveraged or margined basis through a pooled investment vehicle, the Coventry Eire Forex Fund (Coventry Eire). Neither defendant has ever been registered with the CFTC.

The complaint, filed on May 16, 2012, alleges that from at least June 18, 2008, through April 2011, Bühler-Miko and Coventry defrauded customers of at least $300,000 through their scheme.

In soliciting actual and prospective customers, the defendants allegedly made misrepresentations of material facts, including (1) guaranteeing customer profits of six percent quarterly, plus a bonus payment at the end of the 13-month “Asset Management Agreement” by trading forex in Coventry Eire, and (2) downplaying the risk of entering into leveraged forex transactions.

Bühler-Miko, who had no trading experience, admitted in sworn testimony that no customers received the promised quarterly returns or bonus Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term and that she ultimately advised each customer that they had lost nearly all of their principal trading forex contracts through Coventry Eire, according to the complaint.

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, restitution to defrauded customers, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.