23-year-old Kevin Perry, a self-proclaimed foreign currency trader, recently pled guilty to investment fraud and was sentenced to 41 months in prison last month.
According to the Department of Justice, Perry ran an investment fraud scheme under the name Lucrative Pips that defrauded investors in the amount of more than $430,000. Perry and his company convinced victims to invest in Lucrative Pips as a foreign exchange trading company.
Perry also claimed that investments in his company were “secured from loss,” which made it much easier for Perry to extort money from his victims. Furthermore, Perry misrepresented the company’s promise of high returns to investors. Investigators and prosecutors found that Lucrative Pips was never registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is a major red flag for companies seeking investments.
Online Scams on the Rise
If you have been a social media user for the past few years, it is likely that you have noticed how common it is for so-called “foreign currency traders” to publicly discuss their purported moneymaking schemes. There are endless scammers interacting with people on a daily basis with the hopes of stealing money from their victims. These scam artists claim that they are able to turn a few hundred dollars into thousands of dollars within weeks, which prompts people to make quick, irrational decisions to “get rich quick.”
Generally, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In this case, it seems that Perry did just this. Perry reportedly scammed his victims by claiming that their initial investments of a few thousand dollars would yield tens of thousands of dollars per month immediately. Instead, Perry was found guilty of investment fraud and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his victims.
Major Red Flags
We continue to warn consumers about these types of scams, especially during this time where more people are prone to online scams. Per last week’s SEC article, the SEC has seen a recent uptick in activity regarding potential fraud cases. A large number of these cases occur through online communication, as we have seen in the past year. Thus, it is more important than ever to be aware of these types of scams and exhibit safe internet practices at all times.
If you suspect that you are a victim of a potential investment fraud scheme, please contact us immediately at 239-319-4434 for a confidential, no-cost consultation.