The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a default judgment against Michael B. DePetrillo, Meteor LLC and NOLA FX Capital Management LLC imposing a USD 9,211,492.44 civil monetary penalty and permanent trading and registration bans for a fraudulent retail foreign exchange scheme. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana entered the judgment on Sept. 30, 2026, resolving all claims in the CFTC’s 2024 complaint. The court found that the defendants fraudulently solicited and misappropriated USD 3,070,497.48, misrepresented the profitability of their forex trading and issued fabricated account statements to conceal the misconduct. Participant funds were diverted to payments to existing participants in a manner akin to a Ponzi scheme, DePetrillo’s personal expenses and trading in his personal account. The penalty represents three times the defendants’ monetary gain and is payable jointly and severally. The order also permanently prohibits further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. In the related criminal case involving the same conduct, DePetrillo pleaded guilty to violating the Commodity Exchange Act on Feb. 18, 2025. He was sentenced on July 23, 2025, to nine years in prison and ordered to pay USD 6,748,412 in restitution.
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission secures USD 9.2 million penalty and permanent bans against Louisiana man and companies for forex fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission secured a default judgment imposing a USD 9,211,492.44 civil penalty and permanent trading and registration bans against Michael B. DePetrillo and his companies, Meteor LLC and NOLA FX Capital Management LLC. The court found they misappropriated more than USD 3 million through a fraudulent retail forex scheme, with the penalty set at three times their monetary gain. The judgment resolves the CFTC’s 2024 complaint and follows DePetrillo’s 2025 criminal sentence of nine years in prison and a USD 6,748,412 restitution order for the same conduct.