CFTC wins case againts fraudolent CPO, ordered to pay more than $ 24 million to victims and civil penalty

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has entered an order of default judgment and permanent injunction against Kay Yang and her companies, AK Equity Group LLC and Xapphire LLC, for forex transaction fraud that targeted the local Hmong community. Yang, along with her companies, are required to pay restitution of approximately $13.7 million to the victims and a civil penalty of approximately $10.4 million. Yang’s husband, Chao Yang, is also ordered to pay around $1.4 million in disgorgement.

Yang, AK Equity, and Xapphire are permanently banned from violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), registering with the CFTC, and trading in any CFTC-regulated markets. They were found liable for fraud in retail forex transactions, fraud by a commodity pool operator (CPO), violations related to an associated person of a CPO, and registration violations. Chao Yang was found to have received $1.4 million, derived from the fraudulent activities. The order resolves the CFTC’s enforcement case against all parties involved.