The US National Futures Association (NFA) has permanently prohibited East West Global LLC, a former NFA Member commodity pool operator located in Glencoe, Ill., from reapplying for membership and from acting or being listed as a principal of an NFA Member.

NFA has also permanently prohibited Luke James Adrian, a former principal and associated person of East West Global, from applying for NFA membership, reapplying for NFA associate membership and from acting or being listed as a principal of an NFA Member.

The Decision, issued by an NFA Hearing Panel, is based on a Complaint issued by NFA’s Business Conduct Committee (BCC) and a settlement offer submitted by East West Global and Adrian.

In the settlement offer, the firm and Adrian neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the Complaint.

The BCC’s Complaint alleged that East West Global and Adrian violated NFA Compliance Rules 2-2(a), 2-4, 2-29(a) and 2-29(b) by engaging in a deceptive course of conduct involving a commodity pool they operated, called iFund Diversified I, LLC. The Complaint alleged East West Global and Adrian made material changes to the Fund that involved how the firm and Adrian used participants’ retirement funds, and which changed the entire tenor of the investment, but failed to adequately disclose the changes and their consequences to participants and failed to act in participants’ best interests.

The Complaint further alleges that East West Global and Adrian misled participants to believe they would receive their initial investments back, despite a substantial shortfall in the Fund, and used deceptive and misleading communications and promotional materials.