The CFTC charged Enrique F. Villalba, Jr. and his firm, Money Market Alternative, LP (MMA), an Ohio company, with operating a multi-million dollar commodity futures Ponzi scheme.

The CFTC complaint charges that, beginning in at least 1996 and continuing through at least November 2009, Villalba and MMA operated a $37.5 million fraudulent scheme. The complaint alleges that Villalba and MMA misappropriated at least $3 million in investor funds to finance Villalba’s coffee business and to purchase real estate among other things. In addition, the defendants allegedly used more than $7 million of investor funds to make Ponzi payments to new and existing investors.

Specifically, the complaint charges that Villalba fraudulently solicited funds from members of the general public to trade futures predominantly related to the S&P 500 and opened a futures trading account in the name of MMA as early as 1998. Villalba and MMA deposited more than $23.2 million in this account and had net losses of more than $17 million.

Despite massive trading losses, Villalba and MMA allegedly sent monthly, quarterly and annual statements to investors that showed purported consistent profits. Villalba and MMA also made numerous verbal statements to investors and prospective investors about the purported successful performance of their futures trading. Most, if not all, of these written and oral statements were false, the complaint alleges.