CFTC News Release 4369-00 (CFTC Docket 00-06)

For Release February 28, 2000

CFTC FILES ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT AGAINST CURRENCY TRADING SYSTEMS, JOYCE ROEDER, GLENN CYBULSKI, AND MICHAEL STEWART CHARGING FRAUD IN SOLICITING STUDENTS TO ATTEND SEMINARS TO LEARN AND PURCHASE A COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEM

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the filing of a five-count administrative complaint against Currency Trading Systems (Currency Trading), which was located in Irvine, California, and its president, Joyce Roeder, who resides in Yorba Linda, California, as well as former Currency Trading seminar instructors Glenn Cybulski, who resides in San Rafael, California, and Michael Stewart, who resides in Cave Creek, Arizona.

The CFTC complaint alleges, among other things, sales solicitations fraud by each respondent in connection with a commodity futures trading system. In addition, the complaint charges Roeder with managing individual commodity trading accounts without being registered with the CFTC as a commodity trading advisor (CTA) and without providing required disclosures.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that from approximately February 1997 until July 1998, the respondents fraudulently solicited members of the public to pay Currency Trading approximately $4,500 each to attend seminars and to purchase trading software, in order to trade exchange-traded commodity futures contracts. In conducting those seminars, it is alleged that Roeder, Cybulski and Stewart, among others, acted as commodity trading advisors and taught students how to trade commodity futures pursuant to a trading system (the System). As alleged, in their advertisements, promotional materials, and other solicitations of students and prospective students, respondents consistently misrepresented the performance and profitability record of the System, their personal trading success pursuant to the System, the risks involved in trading pursuant to the System, their backgrounds, and their experience.

For instance, the complaint alleges that the respondents continually misrepresented the profitability of the System, claiming that they had been able to average gains of 5 percent to 10 percent each day in their capital account when, in fact, respondents consistently lost money trading pursuant to the system. By such acts, the complaint alleges that the respondents violated the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commission regulations, specifically sections 4b(a)(i) and (iii), and 4o(1) of the CEA and regulation 4.41(a).

The complaint further alleges that Currency Trading violated regulation 4.41(b) in its solicitations of students and prospective students by presenting them with hypothetical performance results without including the required cautionary statement, which misled clients into believing that the phenomenal hypothetical results being touted were actual results achieved by Currency Trading.

Roeder, as a controlling person of Currency Trading, is alleged to be liable for its violation of CFTC regulation 4.41(b). The complaint also alleges that Roeder managed four client accounts, pursuant to signed powers of attorney, without being registered as a CTA, and failed to provide her managed account clients with required disclosures in violation of section 4m(1) of the CEA and CFTC regulations 4.31(a) and (b).

A public hearing has been ordered to determine whether the allegations are true, and, if so, what sanctions are appropriate in the public interest.

Possible sanctions include an order directing the respondents to cease and desist from violating the CEA and Commission regulations as charged; a trading prohibition; a civil monetary penalty of not more than the higher of $110,000 for each violation or triple the monetary gain to the respondents for each violation of the CEA or Commission regulations; and to pay restitution to Currency Trading students.

# # #