The plan fraudulently took more than $24 million from at least 220 clients. A previous order imposed a $22.4 million punishment on the company and another individual.

Joseph Carvajales has been subject to a consent order by a Florida court, which requires him to pay $3.4 million in fines and restitution for his involvement in a fraudulent futures, FX, and options operation. In addition, the order forbids future regulatory infractions indefinitely.

Carvajales, a Florida resident and employee of The W Group (WTG), was found to have “intentionally or carelessly” given misleading information about futures, retail foreign currency contracts (forex), and options to the company's existing and potential customers, according to the announcement made on Thursday.

Carvajales is required by the court order, which was obtained through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) efforts, to pay civil penalties of $1 million in addition to $2.4 million in compensation to the scheme's victims.According to court records, WTG purportedly used a commodities trading algorithm to trade futures, FX, and/or options on behalf of its clients. The company operated from June 2013 until June 2020.

Furthermore, the corporation and its affiliates, including Carvajales, claimed that trading was done, individual trading accounts were created, and client cash was placed into these accounts. They even went so far as to explain to the clients the dangers and possible rewards of trading.

But the CFTC emphasized that, "in actuality, no trading occurred, no client funds were deposited into trading accounts, and individual trading accounts were never set up."

In February 2022, the regulatory agency started taking action against the corporation. The regulatory agency had previously obtained a default judgment against the business and another individual, Larry Ramos Mendoza, upon discovering their embezzlement of more than $24 million from at least 220 clients.

These people even went so far as to falsely approach potential customers and send out fictitious account statements that purportedly showed trading activity and profits. Previous orders for the firm and Ramos included paying the victims back almost $7.5 million plus a fine of more than $22.4 million.

Restitution orders may not always result in the recovery of lost money since the offenders may not have sufficient assets or funds, the agency warned. The CFTC will continue to put forth great effort to protect consumers and see to it that those responsible are held accountable.