This is a photo of the National Register of Historic Places listing with reference number 7000063
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
COURT ORDERS FLORIDA MAN, COMPANY TO PAY $5.7 MILLION FOR ROLES IN COMMODITY POOL PONZI SCHEME
FROM: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Federal Court Orders Ward Onsa of Marco Island, Florida and His Company, New Century Investment Management LLC of Southampton, Pennsylvania to Pay $5.7 Million Civil Monetary Penalty for Operating a Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme
Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on March 20, 2014, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered a final judgment Order imposing a civil monetary penalty of almost $6 million against Defendants Ward Onsa of Marco Island, Florida, and his company, New Century Investment Management LLC (New Century), of Southampton, Pennsylvania, in a CFTC enforcement action. The court’s March 20, 2014, Order followed an earlier default judgment Order entered on December 5, 2011, finding that the Defendants had committed fraud and imposing registration and trading bans.
The Orders stem from a CFTC Complaint filed on April 5, 2011, in which the CFTC charged Onsa and New Century with solicitation fraud, misappropriation, and issuing false account statements to commodity pool participants while operating a commodity pool Ponzi scheme (see CFTC Release 6016-11, April 6, 2011).
The court’s partial default judgment Order finds that through Onsa’s fraudulent misrepresentations at least 12 pool participants invested a total of more than $2.2 million with New Century Hedge Fund Partners I, LP to trade commodity futures and options contracts. The Order further finds that the Defendants misappropriated pool participants’ funds and used them to pay personal expenses and to pay earlier participants with newer participants’ funds in the manner of a Ponzi scheme. The Order imposes permanent trading and registration bans on Onsa and New Century, and prohibits them from violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.
The court’s final judgment Order concludes that based on the deterrent purposes of a civil monetary penalty (CMP), the egregiousness of the Defendants’ intentional conduct, the length of time of the Defendants’ wrongful trading activity, and the Defendants’ failure to attempt to ameliorate their wrongful conduct, the CFTC’s request for a CMP of triple Defendants’ gain is appropriate and orders Onsa and New Century to jointly pay a CMP of $5.7 million, in addition to post-judgment interest.
The Order provides that all payments made by Onsa pursuant to the Order will be applied first to satisfy Onsa’s criminal restitution obligation in U.S. v. Ward Onsa, Docket No. 10-CR-730 (DLI) (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York) and, upon satisfaction of that obligation, thereafter will be applied to Defendants’ CMP obligation. In that criminal case, on July 26, 2012, Onsa was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment and on August 21, 2012, was ordered to pay restitution of $3,135,132.22 to 26 victims of various criminal schemes perpetrated by him, including the scheme involving the defrauding of New Century pool participants. Onsa is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution located in Estill, South Carolina.
The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Elizabeth Brennan, Philip Rix, Steven Ringer, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan.
Federal Court Orders Ward Onsa of Marco Island, Florida and His Company, New Century Investment Management LLC of Southampton, Pennsylvania to Pay $5.7 Million Civil Monetary Penalty for Operating a Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme
Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on March 20, 2014, Judge Mary A. McLaughlin of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered a final judgment Order imposing a civil monetary penalty of almost $6 million against Defendants Ward Onsa of Marco Island, Florida, and his company, New Century Investment Management LLC (New Century), of Southampton, Pennsylvania, in a CFTC enforcement action. The court’s March 20, 2014, Order followed an earlier default judgment Order entered on December 5, 2011, finding that the Defendants had committed fraud and imposing registration and trading bans.
The Orders stem from a CFTC Complaint filed on April 5, 2011, in which the CFTC charged Onsa and New Century with solicitation fraud, misappropriation, and issuing false account statements to commodity pool participants while operating a commodity pool Ponzi scheme (see CFTC Release 6016-11, April 6, 2011).
The court’s partial default judgment Order finds that through Onsa’s fraudulent misrepresentations at least 12 pool participants invested a total of more than $2.2 million with New Century Hedge Fund Partners I, LP to trade commodity futures and options contracts. The Order further finds that the Defendants misappropriated pool participants’ funds and used them to pay personal expenses and to pay earlier participants with newer participants’ funds in the manner of a Ponzi scheme. The Order imposes permanent trading and registration bans on Onsa and New Century, and prohibits them from violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.
The court’s final judgment Order concludes that based on the deterrent purposes of a civil monetary penalty (CMP), the egregiousness of the Defendants’ intentional conduct, the length of time of the Defendants’ wrongful trading activity, and the Defendants’ failure to attempt to ameliorate their wrongful conduct, the CFTC’s request for a CMP of triple Defendants’ gain is appropriate and orders Onsa and New Century to jointly pay a CMP of $5.7 million, in addition to post-judgment interest.
The Order provides that all payments made by Onsa pursuant to the Order will be applied first to satisfy Onsa’s criminal restitution obligation in U.S. v. Ward Onsa, Docket No. 10-CR-730 (DLI) (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York) and, upon satisfaction of that obligation, thereafter will be applied to Defendants’ CMP obligation. In that criminal case, on July 26, 2012, Onsa was sentenced to 78 months imprisonment and on August 21, 2012, was ordered to pay restitution of $3,135,132.22 to 26 victims of various criminal schemes perpetrated by him, including the scheme involving the defrauding of New Century pool participants. Onsa is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution located in Estill, South Carolina.
The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Elizabeth Brennan, Philip Rix, Steven Ringer, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
CFTC ACTING CHAIRMAN WETJEN STATEMENT ON END-USERS AND DODD-FRANK
FROM: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
Statement of Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen at Roundtable on Dodd-Frank End-User Issues
April 3, 2014
Washington, DC—Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen made the following statement at the public roundtable on end-users and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).
“I am pleased the staff has convened today’s roundtable focusing on end-user issues and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Congress was crystal clear that commercial end-users, which make up the overwhelming majority of companies in America, did not cause the crisis. Further, Congress was equally clear that in putting in place the significant derivatives reforms contained in Dodd-Frank, the derivative markets needed to remain accessible to end-users who rely on these markets for hedging and price-discovery needs.
“Looking ahead, the Commission must continue to remain open to revisiting certain rules and making adjustments as necessary. For example, the de minimis exception in the swap dealer definition for Special Entities – defined in the Dodd Frank Act to include federal, state, and municipal entities – was making it difficult for government-owned electric utilities to hedge key operational risks. In response, Commission staff recently issued temporary no-action relief that allows counterparties to exclude utility operations-related swaps from the 25 million dollar threshold.”
“Today, I am pleased to announce that I am putting into circulation a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend the de minimis exception to address this issue. Once the Commission issues the proposal, I look forward to receiving comment from the public and interested parties on this issue. I would like to thank the hardworking staff of the CFTC for convening this roundtable. I am looking forward to hearing the thoughts of everyone participating in the roundtable.”
Statement of Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen at Roundtable on Dodd-Frank End-User Issues
April 3, 2014
Washington, DC—Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen made the following statement at the public roundtable on end-users and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).
“I am pleased the staff has convened today’s roundtable focusing on end-user issues and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Congress was crystal clear that commercial end-users, which make up the overwhelming majority of companies in America, did not cause the crisis. Further, Congress was equally clear that in putting in place the significant derivatives reforms contained in Dodd-Frank, the derivative markets needed to remain accessible to end-users who rely on these markets for hedging and price-discovery needs.
“Looking ahead, the Commission must continue to remain open to revisiting certain rules and making adjustments as necessary. For example, the de minimis exception in the swap dealer definition for Special Entities – defined in the Dodd Frank Act to include federal, state, and municipal entities – was making it difficult for government-owned electric utilities to hedge key operational risks. In response, Commission staff recently issued temporary no-action relief that allows counterparties to exclude utility operations-related swaps from the 25 million dollar threshold.”
“Today, I am pleased to announce that I am putting into circulation a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend the de minimis exception to address this issue. Once the Commission issues the proposal, I look forward to receiving comment from the public and interested parties on this issue. I would like to thank the hardworking staff of the CFTC for convening this roundtable. I am looking forward to hearing the thoughts of everyone participating in the roundtable.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To WALL STREET FRAUDSTERS
Posts
All Comments