Silver Law Group Investigates Double Eagle Enterprises LLC and Eric Arlt for Precious Metals Fraud
23 May 2015 - 3:22AM
Silver Law Group (www.silverlaw.com) is investigating claims
against Charlevoix, Michigan-based Double Eagle Enterprises LLC and
its owner, Eric Arlt, and potential third parties for their
suspected operation of a fraudulent precious metals investment
scheme.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission entered an Order imposing against Double Eagle
Enterprises LLC, Double Eagle Metals (collectively “Double Eagle”),
and Mr. Arlt a monetary penalty of $100,000 as well as a
restitution award of $611,154 to be paid to defrauded investors for
fraud in operating an off-exchange precious metals investment scam
and for failing to register as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM)
with the CFTC, as required. The Order also imposes upon Arlt
and Double Eagle a permanent ban on trading on or pursuant to the
rules of any CFTC registered entity.
According to the CFTC Order, Arlt and Double
Eagle -- from at least July 2011 to May 2013 -- telephonically
solicited retail customers to engage in off-exchange financed
precious metals transactions. Each investor was told that to
purchase a certain amount of metal, the customer would only need to
deposit a small percentage of the total metal value, while Double
Eagle would arrange for the customer to receive a loan for the
remaining percentage.
The CFTC Order states that financed,
off-exchange transactions with retail customers have been illegal
since July 2011, when certain amendments of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 became effective.
Because Double Eagle/Arlt’s transactions were done off-exchange
with customers who were not eligible contract participants, the
CFTC found that they were illegal.
The Order further states that Double Eagle acted
as an FCM by soliciting and accepting customers’ orders for
financed precious metals transactions -- in this case, collecting
over $1 million from those customers, many of whom were not
eligible contract participants -- despite not being registered as
an FCM. Double Eagle’s unregistered activity in this regard
is unlawful, and the company was sanctioned accordingly.
If you have invested more than $500,000 in
precious metals and believe you are the victim of a fraud or a
theft of your assets, you might have the grounds upon which to
assert a claim to recover your losses. Silver Law Group is a
nationally-recognized securities law firm headquartered in South
Florida, with satellite offices in New York and Washington, D.C.,
representing investors worldwide with their claims for losses due
to financial misconduct and investment firm negligence in
securities litigation and arbitration matters including FINRA and
NFA arbitrations. Scott L. Silver and David C. Silver both
have Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ of “AV” Preeminent
for achieving the highest ethical and legal standards. The firm has
successfully recovered multi-million dollar awards for its clients
through NFA arbitration, FINRA arbitration, and the courts.
To contact Scott L. Silver to discuss your legal matter, call
toll-free (800) 975-4345 or e-mail him at
SSilver@silverlaw.com.