New Orleans Financier Michael Depetrillo Pleads Guilty in $9.2 Million Forex Investment Fraud Scheme

&NewLine;<p><strong>NEW ORLEANS&comma; LA &lpar;February 19&comma; 2025&rpar;<&sol;strong> – Michael Brian Depetrillo&comma; a 43-year-old New Orleans resident&comma; pleaded guilty on February 18&comma; 2025&comma; to violating the Commodity Exchange Act&comma; admitting to a multi-million dollar investment fraud scheme that spanned seven years and defrauded at least 55 investors&period; Acting U&period;S&period; Attorney Michael M&period; Simpson announced the guilty plea&comma; marking a significant step in holding Depetrillo accountable for his elaborate deception&period; Depetrillo faces a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison and substantial <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;tag&sol;financial-fraud&sol;amp&sol;" title&equals;"financial" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"1231">financial<&sol;a> penalties&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">The Mechanics of the Fraud&colon; Unregistered Operations and False Promises<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mh-content-ad"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js&quest;client&equals;ca-pub-9162800720558968"&NewLine; crossorigin&equals;"anonymous"><&sol;script>&NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle"&NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;"&NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article"&NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid"&NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-9162800720558968"&NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1081854981"><&sol;ins>&NewLine;<script>&NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi;&NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>According to court documents&comma; Depetrillo operated a sophisticated <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;adult-adoption-scheme-to-defraud-undocumented-immigrants&sol;amp&sol;" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"1229">scheme<&sol;a> by misrepresenting himself and his companies as legitimate investment vehicles&period; He was not properly registered as a Commodity Pool Operator &lpar;CPO&rpar; or an Associated Person &lpar;AP&rpar; of a CPO with the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission &lpar;CFTC&rpar;&comma; a fundamental violation of federal law&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Depetrillo used a network of companies&comma; including Meteor&comma; LLC&semi; NOLA FX Capital Management&comma; LLC&semi; ELC Enterprise Solutions&comma; LLC&semi; and Argosapolis&comma; LLC&comma; to project an image of legitimacy&period; He lured investors with promises of high returns through pooled investments in the &&num;8220&semi;NOLA FX FUND&period;&&num;8221&semi; This fund&comma; Depetrillo claimed&comma; would be used to trade foreign currency pairs &lpar;retail forex&rpar; on a leveraged basis&comma; a strategy that can potentially yield high profits but also carries significant risk&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">The Allure of High Returns and the Reality of Misappropriation<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Depetrillo&&num;8217&semi;s sales pitch centered on the purported benefits of pooling investor funds&period; He told investors that their money would be combined for greater trading power and&comma; consequently&comma; higher returns&period; He further solidified this illusion by claiming that either METEOR or NOLA FX CAPITAL managed the NOLA FX FUND&period; In at least one instance&comma; he even identified &&num;8220&semi;NOLA FX Capital&&num;8221&semi; itself as the investment vehicle&comma; further blurring the lines and adding to the confusion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The promised investments weren&&num;8217&semi;t limited to forex&period; Depetrillo boasted of trading in gold futures options&comma; stocks&comma; and even cryptocurrency&comma; diversifying the supposed portfolio to attract a wider range of investors&period; This diversification&comma; however&comma; was entirely fictitious&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Instead of investing the funds as promised&comma; Depetrillo misappropriated the money&period; The court documents reveal a shocking breakdown of how the stolen funds were used&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Ponzi-like Payments&colon;<&sol;strong> Approximately &dollar;3&period;7 million was used to pay &&num;8220&semi;returns&&num;8221&semi; to earlier investors&period; This classic Ponzi scheme tactic creates a false sense of success and encourages further investment&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Personal Investments&colon;<&sol;strong> Around &dollar;575&comma;000 was funneled into Depetrillo&&num;8217&semi;s own personal investments&comma; demonstrating a clear intent to enrich himself&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Extravagant Lifestyle&colon;<&sol;strong> The remaining funds were used to support a lavish lifestyle&comma; including&colon;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li>&dollar;425&comma;000 on rent&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>&dollar;200&comma;000 on private air travel&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>&dollar;300&comma;000 on online gambling&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>Other unspecified personal expenses&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Concealing the Truth&colon; Fabricated Statements and Commingled Funds<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>To maintain the illusion of profitability and prevent investors from discovering the fraud&comma; Depetrillo engaged in deliberate acts of concealment&period; He created and distributed fictitious account statements under the names NOLA FX FUND and NOLA FX CAPITAL&period; These statements falsely claimed that Depetrillo had been actively trading forex with the pooled funds and that these trades were generating significant returns&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In reality&comma; Depetrillo never deposited the investors&&num;8217&semi; money into trading accounts belonging to NOLA FX FUND or NOLA FX CAPITAL&period; The impressive returns shown on the statements were entirely fabricated&period; This act of creating false documentation is a key element of the fraud and a serious violation of the law&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Furthermore&comma; Depetrillo failed to comply with regulations governing forex pools&period; He did not receive funds in the name of the pool and commingled investor funds with his own&comma; making it difficult to track the money and further obscuring his illicit activities&period; This commingling is a significant <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;the-ultimate-guide-to-occupancy-fraud-spotting-red-flags-and-protecting-yourself&sol;amp&sol;" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"1230">red flag for any investment<&sol;a> operation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">The Scale of the Deception&colon; &dollar;9&period;2 Million and 55 Victims<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Over a seven-year period&comma; Depetrillo managed to defraud approximately 55 investors&comma; taking in a staggering &dollar;9&period;2 million&period; This figure highlights the scale and longevity of the scheme&comma; demonstrating Depetrillo&&num;8217&semi;s ability to deceive a significant number of people over an extended period&period; The long duration also suggests a sophisticated and well-organized operation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Sentencing and the Search for More Victims<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Michael Depetrillo&&num;8217&semi;s sentencing is scheduled for May 25&comma; 2025&comma; before United States District Judge Jay C&period; Zainey&period; He faces a severe penalty&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Up to 10 years of imprisonment&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Up to 3 years of supervised release&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>A fine of up to &dollar;1&comma;000&comma;000&period;00&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Repayment of all proceeds obtained from the fraud&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>A mandatory &dollar;100 special assessment fee&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The potential for a decade in prison and the requirement to repay the stolen funds underscore the seriousness of the charges&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The Federal Bureau of Investigation &lpar;FBI&rpar; is actively investigating the case and believes there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward&period; The FBI has set up a dedicated website&comma; <strong><a rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;fbi&period;gov&sol;depetrillovictims">http&colon;&sol;&sol;fbi&period;gov&sol;depetrillovictims<&sol;a><&sol;strong>&comma; where individuals can report information related to Depetrillo&&num;8217&semi;s fraudulent scheme&period; The FBI encourages anyone who believes they may have been a victim to provide information&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">The Prosecution Team and Contact Information<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Kathryn McHugh of the Financial Crimes Unit and Brian M&period; Klebba&comma; Chief of the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;fraudswatch&period;com&sol;the-future-of-check-fraud-how-to-protect-yourself-in-2025&sol;amp&sol;" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"1228">Financial Crimes<&sol;a> Unit&period; This indicates the specialized nature of the case and the resources being dedicated to achieving justice&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>For further information&comma; the public can contact&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Shane M&period; Jones Public Information Officer United States Attorney’s Office&comma; Eastern District of Louisiana United States Department of Justice<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Protecting Yourself from Investment Fraud&colon; Key Red Flags<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of investment fraud&period; While no investment is entirely risk-free&comma; there are several red flags that potential investors should be aware of&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li><strong>Unrealistic Returns&colon;<&sol;strong> Promises of exceptionally high returns with little or no risk are a major warning sign&period; If it sounds too good to be true&comma; it probably is&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Unregistered Individuals or Companies&colon;<&sol;strong> Always verify the registration status of any individual or company offering investment opportunities&period; Check with the CFTC and other relevant regulatory bodies&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Pressure Tactics&colon;<&sol;strong> Be wary of high-pressure sales tactics urging you to invest quickly&period; Legitimate investment professionals will give you time to make informed decisions&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Lack of Transparency&colon;<&sol;strong> Avoid investments where the underlying strategy or holdings are unclear or overly complex&period; You should be able to understand how your money is being invested&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Commingling of Funds&colon;<&sol;strong> Ensure that your investment funds are kept separate from the personal funds of the advisor or company&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Difficulty Withdrawing Funds&colon;<&sol;strong> Be cautious if you encounter difficulties or delays when attempting to withdraw your funds&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li><strong>Guaranteed returns&colon;<&sol;strong> Investment always mean risk&comma; any offering guaranteeing a return is lying&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>By being vigilant and conducting thorough due diligence&comma; investors can significantly reduce their risk of becoming victims of fraud&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><&sol;p>&NewLine;

Commodity Exchange ActForex fraudInvestment Fraudinvestment schemeMichael Depetrillo