The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) just scored a win against Erik J. Hass and his outfit, Simply Gains, Inc. They’ve been in hot water since June 9, 2020, when the CFTC called them out for tricking people into pouring millions into a dodgy forex trading gig without the proper sign-off under the Commodity Exchange Act.

Hass didn’t just get a slap on the wrist; he pleaded guilty in a related criminal case and got hit with an order to pay back the victims of his scam. But that’s not all – a court just laid down an extra fine of $830,000 and told Hass and his company they’re banned from trading on regulated markets, registering with the CFTC, or doing anything else that breaks the rules.

From March 2013 to February 2019, Hass and Simply Gains talked at least 21 folks into handing over $2.1 million for their forex pool, promising them they couldn’t lose more than 20% of their cash. Turns out, that was a bunch of baloney. They blew through over a million bucks in bad trades and siphoned off another $415,000 for Hass’s personal bills and a fancy cruise.

“The order further finds that the defendants fraudulently solicited prospective pool participants by misleading them about Hass’ experience, expertise, and investment track record while promising future profitability with limited downside. According to the order, to conceal their misappropriation and unprofitable forex trading, the defendants sent pool participants false account statements that purported to show profits,” the statement reads.

To keep the scam going, they even sent out fake profit statements to make it look like everything was peachy.