Ndidi, you are correct with what you say, but some unscrupulous managers require the money in THEIR account to trade for you. NEVER, NEVER allow this.

Anything one cannot control let him or her not start.It is as simple as that.
The unscrupulous managers will always give the excuses that they cannot use one platform to trade so many accounts.
If they tell you that let them know that with Mutil-terminal platform they can trade so many accounts for different clients.
The funds are not suppose to be in one account.
 
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The scammer looks like he told people varying stories, but the portion that made it into the market was part of a pooled fund.

Overall, I strongly recommend against pooled funds for managed forex. In addition to all the risks of a normal managed forex account, there's the added risk that some or all of your money might end up being spent in Las Vegas.


Obviously, victims should have done more due diligence, but no one deserves to be victimized.
 
It is terrible that these types of crimes run rampid.

The forex market is still a very loosely regulated market; there simply isnt a centralized exchange for trading currencies, and therefore, is almost impossible to regulate - limitations in transparency will only make for opportunities for investors to be deceived.


bottomline: if you are looking for a "managed forex" account, and are a US citizen, then YOU ABSOLUTELY should NOT invest in any "program/fund/money manager account, that isnt registered with the National Futures Association(NFA). They, the money/trade/fund manager, should also be registered as a CTA - Commodities Trading Advisor with the NFA. CTA's are required to report their trading results, and should only provide fully audited returns if they are to solicit investors.

You can search a fims NFA registration at BASIC Search

^if they are not registered, you simply shouldnt invest any funds with them.


Prior to Oct 2010, Forex traders soliciting US accounts were not required to be a member of the NFA. Therefore, you wont find too many forex traders/money managers that have been registered for a long period of time.


My advice: stay away from managed forex accounts for at least 2 years - or until an actual data base of registered forex CTA's can be compilled. In general, you should look to invest with CTA's that have built a track record of at least 3 years, and have a minimum of 50 million under management.. most traders that are worth investing in, with have 50M under management after their 3rd year of postive AND consisstent returns... it wouldnt be uncommon to see a CTA's Assets under managemnet to expand from 10M to 50M from year's 2-4 growth. This is what you should look for.


If you cannot find a registered CTA that deals with FOREX, you may want to look at Commodities CTA's, as they have been around for a much longer time AND have the ability to trade Option contracts for Profit.

^the latter of which I feel gives that type of trader(one that can juggle underlying contracts along with its derivatives) a sizeabe advantage at "playing the odds".
 
CFTC Update on Green Tree

There's a news update from the CFTC on this scammer.

November 12, 2013

Federal Court in Massachusetts Orders Lyndon Parrilla to Pay over $17 Million in Disgorgement, Restitution, and a Penalty in Forex Fraud Scheme

In a related criminal proceeding, Parrilla sentenced to 97 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of more than $4.6 million

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a federal court Order awarding restitution for defrauded customers, disgorgement, and a civil monetary penalty totaling more than $17 million against defendant Lyndon Parrilla, of California, in connection with an off-exchange foreign currency (forex) fraud scheme in which Parrilla and his company, Green Tree Capital (Green Tree), defrauded over 50 customers in the United States of over $4 million.

Judge Joseph L. Tauro of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered the final judgment and permanent injunction Order on October 24, 2013 (see Related Link), requiring Parrilla to pay restitution of $4,197,342 to defrauded customers, disgorgement of $3,353,925, and a $10 million civil monetary penalty. The Order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against Parrilla and prohibits him from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged.

The Order stems from a CFTC Complaint filed on April 12, 2011, that charged Parrilla and Green Tree with fraud, misappropriation, and other CEA violations (see CFTC Press Release 6024-11). The court previously entered judgment against Green Tree on June 30, 2011.

The final judgment Order is based on the court’s findings set forth in an earlier Order, entered on September 30, 2013 (see Related Link), that finds that Parrilla and Green Tree fraudulently solicited over $4 million from at least 50 customers in the United States, from approximately October 2009 until April 2011, for the purported purpose of trading off-exchange forex contracts on a leveraged or margined basis in managed accounts.

In soliciting the funds, the Order finds that Parrilla, on behalf of Green Tree, misrepresented that Green Tree had a record of delivering consistently profitable returns when, in fact, it incurred trading losses since its inception, and almost 80 percent of customer funds was never traded or invested in any manner. In fact, according to the Order, Parrilla misappropriated over $3.3 million of customer funds to pay personal and entertainment expenses, including Las Vegas casino expenses, purchase automobiles and clothing, and ATM or cash withdrawals. To disguise these misrepresentations, trading losses, and misappropriations, Parrilla sent false Green Tree account statements to customers by email. Further, the Order finds that Parrilla misrepresented his experience and expertise, and failed to disclose that the National Futures Association (NFA) permanently barred him from NFA membership.

As a result of a parallel criminal action brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in November 2012, Parrilla was sentenced to, among other things, a term of 97 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,675,156.

The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Alex C. Levine, David Chu, Lindsey Evans, Melissa Glasbrenner, Mary Beth Spear, Ava M. Gould, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.


Lyndon Parrilla and his company also won the 2011 Non-Forex Scam of the Year Award from the FPA.


CFTC Press Release

2011 Non-Forex Scam of the Year Award
 
a dream that come true, one of our Scam Oscar award winners is not in prison. Asstmoderator, you must be proud.
 
97 months in a federal penitentiary is a long time. I wonder how often Lyndon Parrilla will drop the soap.
 
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