SEC Files Charges Against Operators of Bogus Day Trading Firm that Bilked Inexperienced Investors Globally of Over $1.4M

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed securities fraud charges against Naris Chamroonrat of Thailand and American Adam L Plumer. The regulator contends that the two men ran a fake day-trading that collectively defrauded hundreds of investors in over 30 nations of over $1.4M. At least 180 of the investors are from the US, including several from New Jersey.

Chamroonrat purportedly recruited Plumer to bring in investors to engage in day trading via Nonko Trading, an unregistered broker-dealer. The firm promised low trading commissions, good leverage, and low deposit requirement minimums.

However, contends the regulator, rather than employing a live securities trading platform, the firm gave certain investors training accounts that simulated the execution and placement of their orders that were never actually sent to the markets. Instead, their money went toward Chamroonrat’s own expenses, payments to Plumer and others, and was used as Ponzi-like payments to investors who decided close their accounts. The Commission believes that the day trading scam purposely targeted novice investors who were more apt to make trades that were not profitable, less likely to attempt to take money out of their account, and more prone to assuming that their investment losses were from trading and not because of fraud.

Meantime, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has brought parallel criminal charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud against Chamroonrat. He was arrested this week at Los Angeles International Airport in California.

According to the criminal complaint, Chamroonrat and others committed the alleged day trading fraud from 12/2013 to 6/2015. To conceal the scam, Naris Chamroonrat allegedly gave investors an online trading simulator and told them these were real accounts used for trading securities. Most of the investors’ funds were moved to foreign bank accounts that were in Chamroonrat’s control.

Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas, LTD LLP represents not just investors in the US, but also investors outside the US that wish to bring fraud claims against US-based financial representatives and firms. Contact us today.

Read the SEC Complaint (PDF)