Ponzi schemes not only occur in some countries and regions with lack of supervision, such as China and some Southeast Asian countries, but also in developed countries and regions with sound regulatory systems, such as the United States, there are also many Ponzi schemes under the banner of foreign exchange.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged three Ponzi schemes under the cover of retail forex and binary options trading, accusing the firms and their leaders of illegally absorbing $14.5 million in investments.

In its complaint, the CFTC said John D. Black and his affiliates, Financial Tree, Financial Solution Group and New Money Advisors, Along with his colleagues Christopher Mancuso and Joseph Tufo, they founded the Fraud Trading company in June 2015 and have been operating since.

Regulators allege that through these trading firms, John D. Black and his co-conspirators offered binary options and retail forex trading and attracted $14.5 million in investor funds. They used more than $11 million, some of which they returned to early investors, and also spent on personal vacations, home renovations, limousines, online gambling, and expenses related to divorce and spousal support.

On July 2, 2020, Judge Troy L. Nunley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California signed a restraining order freezing the assets of the fraudulent companies and allowing the CFTC to examine the relevant records of all defendants.

James McDonald, director of enforcement at the CFTC, said: "This action is one of the latest examples of the CFTC's efforts to root out fraud and bad conduct. Where necessary and appropriate, even during a global pandemic, the Commission will act expeditiously to preserve assets for potential victims, including freezing assets through statutory restraining orders, which can be used to compensate victims at a later date."

The CFTC complaint states that from June 15, 2015 to date, the defendants fraudulently funneled $14.5 million from at least 91 members of the public, including more than 50 U.S. residents, to invest in binary options and foreign exchange portfolios, with the fraudsters misappropriating the vast majority of the investment funds. The defendants attempted to cover up their fraud by sending false trading statements to investors and making excuses for those who failed to withdraw funds and cash in their gains. As time went on, these excuses became less and less valid, for example, the European holiday delayed withdrawals, and the storm in the Bahamas delayed the processing of trading orders.

As alleged in the charges, these frauds are ongoing, with defendants continuing to engage in fraudulent inducements and false pretexts for failing to return investor funds. In addition to the fraud charges, the defendants violated various registration requirements and disclosure rules.

The CFTC will continue to pursue litigation against the defendants for recovery of improper gains, civil penalties, restitution of property, permanent registration and trading injunctions, and permanent injunctions for further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.