A Ponzi scammer who filed for bankruptcy early this year is now facing additional litigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The regulator has commenced adversary proceedings against John Patrick Glenn, who played a key role in the Financial Tree scam.

The CFTC has brought this adversary proceeding against Glenn to determine the non-dischargeability of certain debts arising from Glenn’s role in scheme.

Glenn filed a voluntary Chapter 13 petition with the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado on January 6, 2021.

The CFTC complaint makes it clear that the regulator has three claims against Glenn totaling over $26,500,000:

• one seeking restitution ($9,403,279.13);
• one seeking disgorgement ($285,438.24); and
• one seeking civil monetary penalties ($16,857,022).

Let’s recall that the CFTC accuses Glenn and co-defendants John D. Black and Black’s affiliated entities Financial Tree, Financial Solution Group, and New Money Advisors, LLC; Chris Mancuso; and Joseph Tufo of perpetrating a fraudulent scheme to solicit and misappropriate funds from members of the public for the purported purpose of trading binary options and Forex contracts in commodity pools. Those commodity pools were, in reality, part of a Ponzi scheme.

The Financial Tree Defendants traded only a small portion of the money taken in and misappropriated the rest – concealing that misappropriation through Ponzi payments, false accounts statements, and other material misrepresentations and omissions to victims of the Financial Tree Fraud.

The Financial Tree Defendants fraudulently solicited at least approximately $14.5 million from pool participants to trade binary options and Forex in commodity pools. They traded only a small portion of funds in binary options or Forex. Instead of trading the remaining pool funds, the defendants misappropriated the majority of pool funds and, to conceal their misappropriation, made Ponzi payments, issued false account statements, and/or lulled pool participants with material misrepresentations and omissions.

Now, the CFTC prays that the Court enter an order granting the following relief:

• adjudging that Glenn’s restitution debt, arising from the CFTC’s Financial Tree claims, is excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A),
• adjudging that Glenn’s disgorgement debt, arising from the CFTC’s Financial Tree claims, is excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A),
• adjudging that Glenn’s civil monetary penalties debt, arising from the CFTC’s Financial Tree claims, is excepted from discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(2)(A).