CFTC sues manager over $14.8M crypto and futures fraud
The CFTC sued Trevor Vernon and Argent Capital Management, accusing them of running a commodity and crypto pool that defrauded at least 60 investors of about $14.8 million.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court against Trevor Vernon and Argent Capital Management, alleging they operated a commodity and crypto investment pool that defrauded at least 60 investors of about $14.8 million.
The complaint says Vernon solicited funds from March 2022 through February 2026 for a pooled vehicle that traded equity index futures, options on those futures and cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether. The CFTC treats those cryptocurrencies as commodities for purposes of certain derivatives and commodity fraud claims.
The agency alleges Vernon told investors he was a successful trader while the pool’s trading produced consistent and catastrophic losses. The complaint states the pool raised roughly $14.8 million but suffered trading losses exceeding $8.6 million.
To hide the shortfall, the CFTC alleges Vernon misappropriated about $3 million to make payments to investors in a manner the complaint compares to a Ponzi scheme. The complaint also alleges Vernon used roughly $136,000 for private air travel and failed to disclose the losses to investors. The agency says Vernon made false statements to the CFTC in January about the pool’s operations.
Regulatory filings accuse Argent Capital Management of operating without the required registration under federal commodities law. The CFTC charged Vernon with seven counts, including fraud, operating an unregistered commodity pool and making false statements to the regulator. The agency asked the court for permanent bans on Vernon’s registration and trading, disgorgement, civil penalties and restitution to harmed investors.
The complaint includes account statements, performance reports and other documents that the CFTC says contain false or misleading information. The case is among a smaller number of CFTC enforcement actions that directly involve cryptocurrencies as the agency asserts jurisdiction over certain crypto derivatives and commodity fraud.
The lawsuit is pending in federal court. Vernon and Argent Capital Management have not publicly filed a response to the complaint as the litigation proceeds.
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