CFTC accuses Agridime platform of using Ponzi scheme
CFTC accuses Agridime platform of using Ponzi scheme
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Agridime LLC, accusing the company and its co-founders, Joshua Link and Jed Wood, of operating a Ponzi scheme.
The lawsuit was filed on May 10 in a Texas district court, FNG reported.
The CFTC said in the lawsuit that from 2021 until approximately December 11, 2023, Agridime and its co-founders engaged in a fraudulent scheme that involved soliciting and using investor funds to pay profits to prior investors under the guise of a legitimate cattle trading business. Thousands of investors in at least fourteen states were defrauded in this manner.
During that time, Agridime raised more than $161 million from more than two thousand individuals under the guise of buying cattle, according to the CFTC.
The company offered an online platform where clients could invest in cattle with the promise that they wouldn't have to worry about the day-to-day care of the animals. They were lured by the promise of guaranteed annual returns of 15 to 20 percent and up to 32 percent under some contracts.
However, instead of using the funds to purchase and care for livestock as promised, Agridime failed to invest in the number of animals needed. It is alleged that they used funds received from new investors to pay off previous investors, which is a classic feature of a Ponzi scheme.
It is also alleged that approximately $11 million of investor funds were diverted as undisclosed commissions to Agridime employees, including Link, his wife, and Wood.
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