Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, FRAUD AND MANIPULATION—D. Conn.: $6M default judgment entered against Florida man in CFTC fraud action, (Sep 17, 2026)

By Rebecca E. Hoffman, J.D.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in Texas.

In an action arising from the defendant’s fraudulent scheme, through which he amassed $600,000 from 26 clients and willfully or recklessly failed to invest the money or return any profits as promised, the District of Connecticut fulfilled the CFTC’s request for a default judgment, ordering the defendant to pay restitution and a civil monetary penalty, and prohibiting him from trading (CFTC v. Staryk, No. 24-CV-1561 (D. Conn. Sept. 14, 2026)).

The court explained that, back in the 1990s, the defendant was found to have defrauded retail customers of options on commodity futures contracts. At that time, the CFTC sanctioned him and ordered him to cease and desist.

Falsehoods abound. From at least 2021 through at least 2022, the defendant and others who worked with him solicited clients by telling them they were experienced in, and had accumulated profits from, options on commodity futures contracts, the court said.

Clients were told their money would be used to trade such options and that they would shortly earn profits. There was a website for the defendant’s limited liability company, and written materials depicting the LLC as an “investment manager” with a diversified portfolio, explaining their investment strategy and successful past performance. Clients were provided with statements that appeared to show their investments growing.

“In truth, [the defendant’s] solicitations, purported account statements, and entities and bank accounts were rife with fraud and deceit.” The defendant and his “traders” did not open accounts for clients, and “there was no trading,” the court said. The defendant also neglected to tell clients that the CFTC had barred him from trading.

The invested monies were misappropriated. Another LLC, a relief defendant, held some of the funds but they were later transferred to banks in Costa Rica, and the defendant used the funds for his personal benefit. Clients were unable to withdraw their funds, and the very limited returns they saw came from “other client funds in the manner of a Ponzi scheme,” the court said.

In October 2022, the defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting to the scheme. The instant civil matter commenced in October 2024, but the defendant failed to answer or appear.

Fraud and CTA violations. The defendant’s conduct constituted options fraud in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 6c(b) and 17 C.F.R. § 33.10, the court found. He acted willfully or with reckless disregard for the truth, and “[e]ach act of fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation, omission, and false statement or report … is a separate and distinct violation.” The court also noted that the defendant acted as a commodity trading advisor (CTA) by advising others on commodity options trading, but was not registered with the Commission, violating 7 U.S.C. § 6o(1)(A) and (B).

The court entered a permanent injunction against the defendant’s continued “cheating or defrauding” conduct, making false, deceptive statements in connection with commodity options transactions, advising others on such transactions while failing to register, trading or entering into transactions involving commodity interests, directing such trading or soliciting clients for the purpose, applying for registration with the Commission, or working with or for a CFTC-registered entity, an exempt entity, or one required to be registered.

The defendant is ordered to pay $547,616 in restitution, offset by any restitution that he pays to fulfill that obligation in the criminal case, and a civil monetary penalty of $5,907,720.

An individual and an entity named as relief defendants in the case were separately ordered to pay $110,509.86 jointly and severally.

The case is No. 24-CV-1561.

Judge: Williams, J.

Attorneys: Nicole Buseman for the CFTC. Jullian H Jones, I (Law Office of Jullian H. Jones) for Michael Frederick Staryk d/b/a Magestic World Wide Finance a/k/a Magestic WW Solutions a/k/a Magestic World Wide Solutions, Yvonne Stephanie Solerti-Coto and Global Financial Institution LLC.

Companies: Magestic World Wide Finance a/k/a Magestic WW Solutions a/k/a Magestic World Wide Solutions; Global Financial Institution LLC

LitigationEnforcement: CommodityFutures Enforcement FraudManipulation ConnecticutNews