The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii against Gregory Demetrius Bryant, Jr. for fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation, operation of an unlawful commodity pool, and failure to register with the CFTC.
According to the complaint, Bryant fraudulently solicited approximately $426,000 from at least 35 participants for pooled futures and FX trading—misappropriating at least $356,000 to pay personal expenses, including international travel, shopping, and rent, as well as at least $66,000 to make Ponzi payments to conceal and further his fraudulent scheme.
The complaint alleges that since approximately September 2016 through at least June 2020, Bryant- while using the alias “Gregory Surrey England,” purported president of the nonexistent company “Surrey Libor Capital, LLC” – falsely guaranteed monthly futures and forex trading returns of $6,000 to $8,000 in some instances and 60 percent to 80 percent in other instances.
It is further alleged that Bryant made numerous false statements to prospective and current pool participants about his trading experience, his trading success, and being registered with the National Futures Association. According to the complaint, Bryant also failed to tell pool participants that he was a convicted criminal with a history of financial problems, including three bankruptcies.
Bryant, as alleged, misappropriated the vast majority of pool funds for personal expenses and further concealed his fraud and misappropriation of pool participants’ funds by falsely telling them their accounts were “in great shape,” to expect returns or disbursements soon, and/or that his business was being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, permanent trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged.