OptionSellers.com Allegedly Operated a Reckless Options Trading Strategy Which Lost Millions of Investors’ Money Following a Catastrophic Loss Event
OptionSellers.com, a commodities options trading firm, allegedly squandered millions of dollars of investors’ money after engaging in a supposedly reckless trading strategy, according to an e-mail to investors from optionsellers.com under review by investor rights attorney Alan Rosca.
Said e-mail, entitled Catastrophic Loss Event, goes on to detail how OptionSellers.com lost a huge portion of their investors’ assets due to a uncovered or naked call position in natural gas and a naked put in crude oil that, which was so fast and intense that it overwhelmed all risk measures in place.
Optionsellers.com allegedly then shut down its website and its social media pages after it destroyed investors’ accounts, and left investors curious as to whether they would be able to recover any of their investment losses.
Alan Rosca, of the Rosca Scarlato LLC law firm, is investigating activity related to OptionSellers.com‘s alleged commodities fraud scheme. Investors who believe they may have lost money in activity related to OptionSellers.com‘s alleged commodities fraud scheme are encouraged to contact attorney Alan Rosca with any useful information or for a free, no obligation discussion about their options.
To add insult to injury, the aforementioned e-mail goes on to inform investors that they have a debit balance in their accounts which they needed to bring back to zero by giving the difference to INTL FC Stone, thereby telling investors that their money was gone and that they were also on the hook for OptionSellers.com‘s margin calls. INTL FC Stone is the firm that executed and cleared the trades for OptionSellers.com
OptionSellers.com clients were reportedly required to open accounts with clearing firm INTL FC Stone, the firm that operated the margin accounts that were required as part of OptionSellers.com’s trading strategy and helped facilitate OptionSellers.com’s commodities options strategy, according to news reports.
INTL FC Stone is a big publicly-traded company that was ranked 103 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of largest United States Corporations by total revenue, and had over $30 billion in revenues in 2017 last year.
INTL FC Stone allegedly failed to maintain proper due diligence of OptionSellers.com’s traders including, but not limited to James Cordier and Michael Gross, who have had multiple complaints filed against them in the past and were charging enormous commissions to investors.
What is more, FC Stone allegedly did not have sufficient procedures and controls to detect and prevent the high concentrations of naked natural gas call options and naked crude oil put options that caused
OptionSellers.com Allegedly Told Investors that Its Goal was to Take an Aggressive Vehicle & Manage it Conservatively
OptionSellers.com had attracted many investors after stating that its goal was to take an aggressive vehicle and manage it conservatively.
In reality, however, OptionSellers.com allegedly traded uncovered or naked options on different commodities, including crude oil, natural gas, coffee, soybeans, gold and silver.
Said strategy allegedly exposed investors to enormous risk, and OptionSellers.com allegedly failed to put in place a proper hedging strategy to protect investors from that risk.
Trading naked on margin instead of covered, means that investors are vulnerable to unlimited exposure, which can lead to losses, and can lead to a breach of fiduciary duties which puts a firm’s interests ahead of its clients.
OptionSellers.com, based in Tampa, FL, was a commodities trading firm that claimed to be experienced in this type of investment. The firm’s president and head trader, James Cordier, however, has a history of financial misgivings.
In 2013, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged Cordier, his partner, and former firm Liberty Trading Group nearly $50,000 for alleged improper trading.
The principals and traders for OptionSellers.com were James Cordier, Rosemary Veasey, Matthew Donovan, Michael Gross, and Alicia Zedella
Finally, it is important to note that, as of the date of this article, there has not been a finding of liability as to the complaints or allegations mentioned in this article, unless otherwise indicated. Any reader should also read the original sources hyperlinked in this blog for accuracy, including any BrokerCheck report and/or record of any disciplinary or regulatory action. Those sources are incorporated by reference into the text of this blog, and are the governing materials in case of any inconsistencies or typos in this blog.
Securities Lawyer Investigating
The Rosca Scarlato LLC law firm represents investors who lose money as a result of investment-related fraud or misconduct and are currently investigating OptionSellers.com‘s alleged commodities fraud scheme. The firm takes most cases of this type on a contingency fee basis and advance the case costs, and only gets paid for their fees and costs out of money recovered for clients. Attorney Alan Rosca, a securities lawyer and adjunct professor of securities regulation, and has represented thousands of victimized investors across the country and around the world in cases ranging from arbitrations to class actions.
Investors who believe they lost money as a result of OptionSellers.com‘s alleged commodities fraud scheme may contact attorney Alan Rosca for a free no-obligation evaluation of their recovery options, at 888-998-0530, via email at arosca@rscounsel.law, or through the contact form on this webpage.
