Owners of FX investment company Mediatrix indicted
A federal grand jury has indicted the owners of Forex investment company Mediatrix Capital. Michael Shawn Stewart and Bryant Edwin Sewall were charged with fourteen counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Stewart made his initial appearance on Friday in front of United States Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix. He is out on bond. Sewall remains at large.
According to the indictment, from late 2015 through September 2019, Stewart, Sewall, and a third business partner owned and operated Mediatrix Capital for the purpose of soliciting investor funds for algorithm-based Forex trading.
During the same time, Stewart, Sewall and the third business partner had majority ownership of, and operated, Blue Isle Markets for the purported purpose of acting as an intermediate broker between Mediatrix’s investors and its brokerage firm where the FX trading took place. From early 2016 through September 2019, Stewart and Sewall allegedly caused the third business partner to provide false and misleading information to investors and potential investors.
From early 2016 through late 2018, Stewart and Sewall falsely represented that Mediatrix had a history of successful FX trading dating back to December 2013 with no months in which Mediatrix incurred net losses when, in fact, Mediatrix never traded prior to 2015 and its trading history included many months in which net losses were incurred. Mediatrix’s marketing materials falsely represented that Mediatrix’s FX trading program offered “100% Transparency” and “World Class Returns.”
From March 2016 through September 2019, investors sent more than $129 million dollars to bank accounts held by Blue Isle and Mediatrix for the purpose of investing in algorithm-based FX trading. During that time, trade losses in excess of $32 million occurred, and Stewart, Sewall, and the third business partner spent more than $40 million on personal and business expenses.
The Department of Justice explains that each count of wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of twenty years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, and a $100 special assessment. The conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, and a $100 special assessment.