CFTC has hard time complying with Court requirements in FX fraud case
It might have seemed that the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was about to close successfully its action against Danish Forex fraudster Casper Mikkelsen, but then, as FX News Group has reported, the Court required the regulator to produce additional information on certain matters.
And now, the CFTC admits that it will need extra time to comply with the Court’s requirements. This becomes clear from the latest filings with the New York Southern District Court.
For starters, let’s recall that 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.
The regulator 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 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.
Now, the CFTC requests a 60-day extension of time from the original deadline for submission of June 15, 2021 to August 15, 2021. The regulator seeks this extension of time in order to conduct additional research and consult with an expert in Danish law to support its additional briefing. The Commission represents that the process of identifying, hiring, and funding a contract for an appropriate expert as well as the expert’s actual consultant work will take approximately 60 days to complete.
On June 11, 2021, the Court granted the CFTC’s request for extension of time.