New York Investment manager Haena Park pled guilty in New York federal court to one count of commodities fraud after losing nearly $20 million. A large portion of the money in the commodities fraud case came from friends, family, and fellow Harvard alumni.
Between 2010 and 2016, Haena Park convinced investors, including her parents and other close family members, to invest in funds and investment pools she managed under one of her two firms, Phaetra and Argenta. According to prosecutors, her trading was “consistently unsuccessful,” so she generated phony account statements to cover up her mistakes. As is typical in Ponzi schemes, Park also tried to hide her losses by using new investor money to pay earlier investors.
When her initial strategy failed, Park claimed she made highly leveraged trades with the hope of making the money back; however, she ended up digging the hole even deeper.
Now, Haena Park faces up to 10 years in prison. In exchange for a plea agreement, the government has dropped a wire fraud charge that could have added another 10 years to her sentence. The plea agreement recuses Park from arguing for a sentence below the guideline range of 108-120 months.
Additionally, Park also has agreed to forfeit $23.19 million, which includes trading losses and another $3 million used to pay off investors to keep her scam afloat.
In addition to being the subject of the commodities fraud case, Park is also the subject of civil actions by the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is seeking to ban her from trading. Those cases were stayed, pending the resolution of her criminal case.
Contact a Commodities Fraud Attorney Today
If you suspect your broker or brokerage firm of malfeasance of any kind, you may have certain legal rights that require your immediate attention.
Contact a Los Angeles commodities fraud attorney today to schedule an appointment or consultation.