The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hit a wall of formalities, as the regulator tries to obtain a default judgment against Danish Forex fraudster Casper Mikkelsen.
As FX News Group has reported, the CFTC has moved the Court to grant final judgment by default against Casper Mikkelsen, order permanent injunctive relief, and impose a restitution obligation and civil monetary penalty.
The CFTC seeks that Casper Mikkelsen pays a civil monetary penalty of $3,573,860.61. The regulator is also pushing for a Court order directing Mikkelsen to pay $1,191,286.87 in restitution to the victims of the fraudulent FX schemes he operated, including GNTFX.
Surprisingly enough, on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the Court did not grant the CFTC’s motion which has been pending for months.
Judge John P. Cronan of the New York Southern District Court issued an order, stating that the Court requires supplemental briefing on a few issues. Further briefing of these issues is thus warranted. By June 15, 2021, the CFTC will have to submit a letter addressing whether service by mail is authorized under Danish law. Any materials in the Danish language should be accompanied by certified English translations.
It was further ordered that the CFTC serve Defendant via overnight courier with a copy of this Order within two business days of the date of this Order. Within two business days of service, the CFTC must file proof of such service on the docket.
The Court’s decision is set to create additional troubles for the CFTC in this case which is complex enough given that the defendant is a resident of a foreign country.
In May 2020, the CFTC announced the filing of an enforcement action in the New York Southern District Court, charging Mikkelsen with engaging in an FX fraud scheme and registration violations.
The CFTC complaint alleges that from at least 2015 to the present, Mikkelsen engaged in a fraudulent scheme that solicited funds from at least 101 individuals and entities to invest with a supposed company called GNTFX to trade retail leveraged or margined Forex. Mikkelsen misappropriated at least some clients’ funds.
As alleged, most clients deposited their funds into bank accounts in the U.S., while others deposited their funds into an overseas account and/or with an American e-commerce company for the purpose of trading forex. Client funds were withdrawn from the U.S. bank accounts by Mikkelsen through his debit card, as well as transferred from the U.S. bank accounts to an overseas bank, and from there to a Bitcoin address for Mikkelsen’s benefit. Mikkelsen then used the money to pay certain clients purported forex trading profits as is typical in a Ponzi scheme.
The complaint also alleges that Mikkelsen was required to register as a commodity trading advisor but failed to do so.
