Christian Kis Is Charged!!
cftc.gov
elease: 5246-06
For Release: October 12, 2006
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Obtains Federal Court Order
Freezing Assets of Tennessee Resident Charged with Fraud in Connection
with Operating a Commodity Pool
Christian Kis Is Charged with Issuing False Statements to Investors in
the U.S. and the U.K.
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(CFTC) announced today that a federal district court in Tennessee
entered a restraining order against defendant Christian Kis, freezing
Kis' assets, prohibiting the destruction of documents, and requiring
Kis to account for his assets. Kis' last known residence is in
Hendersonville, Tennessee.
The court's order, entered on October 6, 2006, arises from a CFTC
complaint alleging that Kis solicited over $400,000 from investors
primarily for purposes of trading commodity futures contracts, lost
all of the investors' money, and then concealed those losses by
issuing false statements to investors.
Specifically, the complaint, charges that, from approximately March
2003 through January 2006, Kis used the internet to solicit more than
$400,000 from members of the general public in the U.S. and the United
Kingdom to purchase shares in Raptor Capital, Inc., a company he
formed primarily for purposes of trading commodity futures contracts.
As alleged, Kis operated Raptor Capital as a commodity pool and pooled
the investors' funds together in various accounts, including at least
one personal trading account.
The value of investors' shares in Raptor Capital was based on the
profitability of Kis' trading, according to the complaint.
Furthermore, the complaint asserts, although Kis was sustaining losses
throughout the time he was trading, he routinely sent false written
statements to investors indicating that the share price of Raptor
Capital was increasing as a result of his supposedly profitable
commodity futures trading. Kis purportedly sent investors e-mails,
monthly and annual account statements, and Internal Revenue Service
Schedule K-1s, which falsely stated that investors had achieved
positive returns.
The CFTC complaint also alleges that Kis failed to register with the
CFTC as a commodity trading advisor and a commodity pool operator and
committed other regulatory violations, including failure to provide
required disclosure documents and accepting customer funds in his own
name.
In its continuing litigation against Kis, the CFTC is seeking
permanent injunctive relief, the return of funds to defrauded
customers, the repayment of ill-gotten gains, and civil monetary
penalties for each violation of the Commodity Exchange Act. U.S.
District Court Judge William J. Haynes, Jr. has scheduled a hearing on
the CFTC's request for a preliminary injunction on October 17, 2006,
at 3 p.m.
The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the Securities Division of the
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance in this matter.
The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members are
responsible for this case: Glenn I. Chernigoff, Michael J. Otten,
Gretchen L. Lowe, and Richard B. Wagner. |
