Release: 5527-08
For Release: July 31, 2008
Tampa Resident Edward J. Evors Ordered to Pay $904,000 in Restitution and Civil Monetary Penalties in CFTC Action Evors Permanently Prohibited from Engaging in Commodity Trading-Related Activities
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that it obtained $452,000 in restitution and a $452,000 civil monetary penalty in a consent order against Edward J. Evors of Tampa, Florida. The order also permanently prohibits Evors, who has never been registered with the CFTC in any capacity, from engaging in any commodity trading-related activities.
The court also entered default judgment orders against two Nevada companies controlled by Evors, Bally Lines, Ltd. (Bally Lines) and GPS Fund, Ltd. (GPS), requiring them to disgorge funds received from Evors’ customers.
The orders were entered by the Honorable Richard A. Lazzara of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The consent order as to Evors resolves CFTC charges that he misappropriated customer funds that he solicited and received for the purpose of trading commodity futures contracts with Coyt E. Murray and Murray’s trading firm, Tech Traders, Inc. of North Carolina. Instead of investing customer funds with Tech Traders, Evors misappropriated the funds and concealed his theft by sending customers false account statements misrepresenting their investment. (See CFTC Press Release 5385-07, September 20, 2007.)
According to the CFTC’s September 2007 complaint, Evors instructed customers to send their funds to Bally Lines and GPS for placement with Tech Traders, but these firms actually provided no services and had no legitimate claim to any customer funds. As such, the complaint named Bally Lines and GPS as relief defendants and sought disgorgement from them.
Murray and Tech Traders were defendants in a previous CFTC enforcement action in which they and other defendants were ordered by the U.S. District Court of New Jersey to pay more than $30 million in sanctions (see CFTC Press Release 5357-07, July 23, 2007).
The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members are responsible for this matter: Elizabeth M. Streit, David A. Terrell, Joy H. McCormack, Scott R. Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.