The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil action against Aureus Revenue Group LLC and its CEO, Emir Jesus Matos Camargo, for fraudulent operations. They allegedly solicited at least $1.5 million from investors for a commodity pool, falsely promising monthly returns of 1.5–3.75%. Matos and Aureus provided participants with fictitious “warranty checks” and misrepresented themselves with a fake CFTC license. Most of the investors’ funds were misused for Matos’ personal expenses and to pay off earlier investors, mimicking a Ponzi scheme. The CFTC is seeking monetary penalties, disgorgement of profits, restitution for the victims, and permanent trading bans for both Matos and Aureus.
The fraudulent activity spanned from 2019 to 2022, with Matos misrepresenting the profitability of Aureus’ trading and promising returns that were never realized. A significant portion of the funds collected were not invested as promised but instead used to cover personal expenses like rent and travel. Aureus’ trading was minimal and largely unprofitable, while funds were shuffled between investors to create the appearance of legitimate returns. Matos also failed to register Aureus as a commodity pool operator and himself as an associated person, violating CFTC regulations.
The CFTC’s action aims to protect investors and maintain market integrity by holding Aureus and Matos accountable for these violations. They seek civil monetary penalties, the return of defrauded funds, and permanent bans on trading and registration for the defendants.
This case highlights the importance of verifying a firm’s registration with the CFTC before investing and underscores the CFTC’s commitment to cracking down on fraudulent commodity schemes. The CFTC encourages the public to report suspicious activities through its fraud hotline and website.
For more detailed information, you can access the full press release here.
Photo by Kjetil Ree.
