The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is seeking an entry of default against Forex and binary options fraudster Patrick Wonsey d/b/a One Bell & Associates, Inc.

The relevant motion was filed on October 30, 2023 with the Florida Middle District Court.

The CFTC explained in its motion that Wonsey has failed to answer or otherwise defend himself in this action. That is why, the regulator requested a clerk’s entry of default against the defendant.

The CFTC filed the complaint in this action on September 26, 2023, alleging that from at least January 2017 through September 2022, Wonsey fraudulently solicited a minimum of $3.4 million from at least 50 individuals to trade, among other things, margined or leveraged retail foreign currency transactions and binary options on and off CFTC-regulated exchanges.

The CFTC further alleged that Wonsey misappropriated at least $2.7 million of pool participant funds. CFTC also alleged that the defendant commingled pool participant funds with his own, that he was not registered as a commodity pool operator, and that he did not set up the commodity pool as required.

Let’s note that the entry of default is a formal step in legal actions, which is typically followed by a judgment of default. The judgment of default typically stipulates the penalties to be imposed on the defendant: fines, bans, restrictions, etc.