A Class Action Claim has been filed against Interactive brokers (Benjamin Chang v. Interactive Brokers LLC, N.D. Cal., Case No. 5:21-cv-05967) according to which over $14 million in investor money was lost in a Ponzi-like scheme that was aided and abetted by Interactive Brokers (IB).
Haena Park, it appears, had established a set of fund entities that were known by the name Phaetra, ostensibly for the purpose of parking the money of her clients. This was in 2013 and 2014. The money that came in was siphoned off and used for Park’s personal gain and pleasure. She also made phony dividend payments to investors to maintain the veneer of normalcy and income. In contravention of their own written guidelines, IB, despite recognizing that Park’s account had been used to perpetrate a fraudulent act, supported her as she was a lucrative customer for them. It was only in 2018 that Park was finally reported. She was arrested and sentenced to 3 years in prison.
SEC alleges, “This case involves a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Park in which she solicited and obtained millions of dollars from 30 or more investors while misrepresenting her
investment track record, the profitability of the investments, and her use of investor funds.”
“Between at least January 2012 and the present, Park touted her supposedly profitable futures and foreign currency (“forex”) trading strategy to prospective investors and offered them the opportunity to invest with her and her firm – referred to as “Phaetra” and/or “Argenta” – in funds and/or other investment pools that she managed. In reality, Park’s trading has resulted in losses of more than $16 million during that time period. As part of her fraudulent scheme, Park at times used new investor funds to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors.
Investor Guidance
Through this release, Haselkorn & Thibaut, a national investor fraud law firm, wishes to make it known that it is pursuing investigations in the case on behalf of some of the investors who have lost money with Haena Park and the Phaetra Funds Ponzi-like scheme. They practice exclusively in the field of securities arbitration on behalf of institutional as well as retail clients from across the world. In Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA ) cases alone they have helped recover millions of dollars. They have offices in New York, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina. Investors can call 1-800-856-3352 to get a free consultation.
