The FPA was dealing with two investigations of managed forex accounts with Atwood and James. In the first, some compensation promised for mishandled accounts was promised to an FPA member, then not delivered. When the FPA asked to assist in negotiations, Michael Kardonick of Atwood & James refused to communicate directly with the FPA. He also made the foolish claim that someone asking for our assistance had violated the fiduciary agreement between a client and Atwood and James. He claimed that the FPA was a scam. He even went so far as to say about the FPA, “If they want to be policemen, let them join the police force!” Eventually, the money was paid, but was done in a way that excess fees were required for our member to cash the check.
In the second case, an FPA member was told that she had made a nice profit, then got no communications until she tried to withdraw money. Then suddenly, she was told that all profits and her initial balance had been lost in a trade she was never informed of. This happened even though she was promised in advance that she would be kept informed at all times. The trading statements showing both the profit and loss were just MS Word documents. Repeated requests for true account statements were ignored. The only possible compensation offered was when Michael Kardonick asked her to sign an agreement that all profits above $2800 for a trade he was going to enter would be hers, if she would drop all further claims. This was an obvious ploy to claim that little or no profit was made, so the FPA advised her against the deal.
On the phone, Kardonick claimed that he was a trading genius and repeatedly insulted and belittled her for daring to question anything he said. This is a tactic that some scammers use to try to bluff their way out of having to provide facts.
The FPA investigator assigned to the second case was going to send a message to Atwood & James today with a final deadline for providing some sort of real compensation in the second case. Last night, the Scam Investigations Committee found out that the CFTC has seized all the assets of Atwood&James. The company, Michael Allan Kardonick and Gary Reich Shapoff have been charged with fraud.
In addition to to misleading clients by falsely claiming that Atwood & James and its traders were licensed and regulated in the United States, there was a claim that the company and Michael Kardonick had a long jistory of successful trading experience. It turns out that Kardonick, the self-proclaimed “trading genius” had traded only since 2003, and had lost about $1.7 million dollars trading.
Other items listed are falsely claiming to have a strategy that will almost guarantee profits while protecting the initial investment, using client funds for personal expenses, and creating fake trading statements to show clients. Kardonick and Shapoff both have prior convictions for mail and wire fraud.
Everything the FPA investigators suspected was going on with Atwood & James is confirmed by the CFTC, plus a lot more. The Scam Investigations Committee confirms that Atwood & James is a scam and hereby blacklists that company.
Official FPA Scam Finding against Atwood & James
CFTC freezes assets of Atwood & James
CFTC charges against Atwood & James, Michael Kardonick and Gary Shapoff
Another Company the FPA is Investigating Faces Fraud Charges -
01-30-2009, 05:08 PM
jb -
01-31-2009, 02:55 AM
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