The NFA has taken emergency enforcement action against IFINIX Futures, Inc, a registered Introducing Broker (“IB”) and Forex Firm Member. According to the NFA, IFINIX’s principal Benhope Munroe fabricated bank statements to hide the firm’s deficient capitalization from NFA auditors. The false bank statements showed a balance of more than $60,000, but further investigation allegedly revealed a negative account balance.

The NFA has placed a Member Responsibility Action (“MRA”) against IFINIX, suspending the IB from NFA membership until further notice. The firm and all Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) carrying IFINIX-introduced accounts must distribute copies of the MRA to all customers. Furthermore, the IB must seek NFA approval before disbursing or trading any funds. The MRA will remain in effect until the firm has demonstrated it is in compliance all NFA requirements. IFINIX is entitled to request a prompt hearing.

The firm’s alleged under-capitalization was discovered when an auditor noticed that no IFINIX bank account statements held the $60,000 shown on the balance sheet. Rather, the IB’s account balance was negative $1,058.27. According to the NFA MRA, when the auditor asked about the missing capital, Munroe said the funds were held in a safety deposit box on Connecticut. However, when no corroborating evidence was produced, IFINIX was told to secure an immediate capital infusion. The NFA says that Munroe showed auditors bank statements with deposit certification bringing IFINIX into compliance with capital requirements. However, when statements for two consecutive weeks showed no account activity, the NFA made direct inquiries and discovered that the IB was still woefully under-capitalized.

This is not the first time IFINIX has run afoul of the NFA. In June 2009, the NFA issued a Business Conduct Committee Complaint against the firm for failure to maintain proper adjusted net capital. IFINIX settled the Complaint for $17,500.

Read more about this NFA enforcement action.
photo credit: Dave Dugdale