Brian Kim and his New York-based firm, Liquid Capital Management LLC (LCM), were charged with illegal solicitation, misappropriation, issuance of false account statements and lying to the National Futures Association.

The CFTC filed a civil anti-fraud complaint against Kim in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on February 15, 2011, charging him and his firm with fraudulently soliciting at least $2.1 million from at least 37 individuals to invest in a commodity futures pool operated by Kim and LCM.

Kim allegedly spent these client funds on grocery items, cars, and leisurely travels. Under the guise of faulty statements of account given to the clients, Kim falsely projected the profitability of their investments starting from March of 2009 until October of 2010.

Kim faces ongoing CFTC litigation that aims to recover the defendants’ illegally-acquired wealth, restitution for the victims of his fraud, civil monetary penalties and permanent injunctions that restrict Kim’s trading and future breaches of federal commodities regulation.

Reference: http://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr5984-11.html