CFTC Sues Michael Alcocer and His Company, InovaTrade, Inc., for Foreign Currency Fraud and Misappropriation
The CFTC has announced that it is suing Michael Alcocer and his firm InovaTrade for fraud. According to the CFTC, InovaTrade falsely marketed itself as a registed Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED). We wrote about the firm in 2011 that it looked like it was a scam. At the time, customers had complained that the firm was holding back funds from clients. Also, the CFTC had sued them previously in 2011 for failing to file as a RFED.
According to the CFTC, InovaTrade had solicited over $10.6 million from more than 400 global customers. InovaTrade was allegedly trading on behalf of customers, but was in fact sending false account documents. InovaTrade had operated out of Panama, a country that has been the center of many sketchy 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 trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. 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 trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Read this Term brokers, but has since seen less firms attributing their offices there. The CFTC added that they had worked together with the Panama Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV) for the case.
CFTC Sues Michael Alcocer and His Company, InovaTrade, Inc., for Foreign Currency Fraud and Misappropriation Defendants allegedly solicited over $10.6 million from more than 400 customers worldwide Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Michael Alcocer and his company InovaTrade, Inc. (InovaTrade). The CFTC complaint alleges that Alcocer and InovaTrade orchestrated a fraudulent scheme that, between November 2008 and September 2011, induced more than 400 customers to deposit more than $10.6 million with InovaTrade, a purported Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED), to trade off-exchange foreign currency (forex). The CFTC’s complaint was filed on September 21, 2012, and the CFTC recently served its lawsuit upon defendants in Panama. The CFTC Complaint alleges that InovaTrade, using its website as well as certain third-party introducing brokers, fraudulently solicited customers, both within and outside the United States, to open retail Forex Trading Forex Trading Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Read this Term accounts — some managed by InovaTrade. The Complaint further alleges that defendants sent InovaTrade customers false trading activity statements and misappropriated all customer funds held as of September 2011 — likely more than $9.8 million. Previously, in January 2011, the CFTC sued InovaTrade in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri for failing to register with the CFTC as an RFED (see CFTC Press Release 5974-11, January 26, 2011). In July 2011, the same court entered an Order of Permanent Injunction prohibiting InovaTrade from continuing to operate as an RFED with U.S. customers. The CFTC’s current Complaint alleges that beginning in or around August 2011, InovaTrade refused to honor any customer withdrawal requests, and in October 2011, defendants closed InovaTrade’s operations and misappropriated all remaining customer funds. In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks civil monetary penalties, restitution, rescission, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the federal commodities laws, as charged. The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Panama Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV). CFTC Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this case are Margaret Aisenbrey, Jenny Chapin, Stephen Turley, Mary Lutz, Charles Marvine, Rick Glaser, and Richard Wagner.
The CFTC has announced that it is suing Michael Alcocer and his firm InovaTrade for fraud. According to the CFTC, InovaTrade falsely marketed itself as a registed Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED). We wrote about the firm in 2011 that it looked like it was a scam. At the time, customers had complained that the firm was holding back funds from clients. Also, the CFTC had sued them previously in 2011 for failing to file as a RFED.
According to the CFTC, InovaTrade had solicited over $10.6 million from more than 400 global customers. InovaTrade was allegedly trading on behalf of customers, but was in fact sending false account documents. InovaTrade had operated out of Panama, a country that has been the center of many sketchy 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 trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. 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 trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Read this Term brokers, but has since seen less firms attributing their offices there. The CFTC added that they had worked together with the Panama Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV) for the case.
CFTC Sues Michael Alcocer and His Company, InovaTrade, Inc., for Foreign Currency Fraud and Misappropriation Defendants allegedly solicited over $10.6 million from more than 400 customers worldwide Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Michael Alcocer and his company InovaTrade, Inc. (InovaTrade). The CFTC complaint alleges that Alcocer and InovaTrade orchestrated a fraudulent scheme that, between November 2008 and September 2011, induced more than 400 customers to deposit more than $10.6 million with InovaTrade, a purported Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED), to trade off-exchange foreign currency (forex). The CFTC’s complaint was filed on September 21, 2012, and the CFTC recently served its lawsuit upon defendants in Panama. The CFTC Complaint alleges that InovaTrade, using its website as well as certain third-party introducing brokers, fraudulently solicited customers, both within and outside the United States, to open retail Forex Trading Forex Trading Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Forex trading is the buying and selling of foreign currencies with the aim of generating a profit. The value of currencies, especially floating currencies, fluctuate to varying degrees. This constant volatility of exchange rates opens the door for speculators to invest in a certain currency against another. The Forex market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with over $5 billion turnover every single day, with the market being open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.It goes without saying that forex trading is a very attractive market for not only banks and hedge funds, but even for the small individual trader, due to the low barriers for entry. One literally only needs a computer with an internet connection, and some money deposited with a forex broker. As a simple example, if you were very confident that the Euro (EUR) was going to gain strength against the US Dollar (USD) in the mid to long term, then you may decide to buy (or go long on) EUR/USD. If the EUR/USD was trading at 1.1500 at the time of purchase, a €10000 investment would have cost you $11500. As time goes by, if the EUR/USD gets stronger, e.g. its exchange rate moves to 1.2000 over the course of a few months, and you decided to close your trade there and then, you would have netted $12000, i.e. a profit of $500. No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Forex Trading Whilst forex trading is easy to delve into, it’s notoriously difficult to master, especially for those without a financial background. A lot of time and effort is needed to practice trading on demo and eventually on real accounts. No doubt it takes dedication, discipline and patience, along with developing an edge to beat the market. That edge is gained by studying at least one of two fields, known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. The former involves looking at currency charts, seeking out certain patterns using tools and software known as price action and indicators to help determine which way a particular forex pair may meander.By extension, the latter involves focusing on the latest news reports and geopolitical situation of the countries involved. Read this Term accounts — some managed by InovaTrade. The Complaint further alleges that defendants sent InovaTrade customers false trading activity statements and misappropriated all customer funds held as of September 2011 — likely more than $9.8 million. Previously, in January 2011, the CFTC sued InovaTrade in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri for failing to register with the CFTC as an RFED (see CFTC Press Release 5974-11, January 26, 2011). In July 2011, the same court entered an Order of Permanent Injunction prohibiting InovaTrade from continuing to operate as an RFED with U.S. customers. The CFTC’s current Complaint alleges that beginning in or around August 2011, InovaTrade refused to honor any customer withdrawal requests, and in October 2011, defendants closed InovaTrade’s operations and misappropriated all remaining customer funds. In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks civil monetary penalties, restitution, rescission, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the federal commodities laws, as charged. The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Panama Superintendencia del Mercado de Valores (SMV). CFTC Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this case are Margaret Aisenbrey, Jenny Chapin, Stephen Turley, Mary Lutz, Charles Marvine, Rick Glaser, and Richard Wagner.