Unregistered commodity pool operator arraigned on fraud charge

ATLANTA –Kevin Perry has been arraigned on charges that he ran a foreign currency investment fraud scheme.

“This defendant allegedly defrauded investors who trusted him with their hard-earned money,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “Even after regulators took action against Perry, he allegedly continued to seek to defraud investors, including at one point attempting to defraud an undercover FBI agent.”

“Instead of living off well-earned investments, Perry’s alleged victims now have to worry about their financial futures,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Nothing can make victims of investment fraud whole again, but the FBI will continue to make it a priority to investigate and punish anyone who preys on investors for their own personal greed.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Perry allegedly led investors to believe that his investment company, Lucrative Pips, was successfully earning substantial profits by investing in the foreign currency (or “forex”) market.  Perry induced investors into sending money by signing agreements that claimed the investors’ initial investments were secure from loss.  In actuality, Lucrative Pips was never registered as a “commodity pool operator” with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  Also, Perry had never generated the historical returns represented to investors, and he was using investor money to enrich himself or to pay off other investors, with the goal of enticing others to invest with him.

The indictment further alleges that even after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil complaint against Perry, he continued to make fraudulent investment pitches to potential investors.  In December 2018, Perry made a series of fraudulent investment pitches to an undercover FBI agent, who was posing as a potential investor.  Perry told the undercover FBI agent that an investment of $10,000 would return a profit of $19,000 to $25,000 per month and that he minimized any risk by doing a “100% money-back guarantee.”

Kevin Perry, 21, of Cartersville, Georgia was arraigned Monday, February 25, 2019 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas.  A federal grand jury returned an indictment on December 12, 2018, alleging that Perry committed wire fraud.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Krepp and Nathan P. Kitchens, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section, are prosecuting the case.   The Commodity Futures Trading Commission provided invaluable assistance throughout the course of the investigation.