F1 Trade Review

Thanks for reading today’s review of F1 Trade. What is F1 Trade? The company is an offshore CFD broker, located at Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre, P.O. Box 1510, Beachmont, Kingstown, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines.

As the company readily admits on their promotional materials, “We are an unlicensed, uninsured, unregulated, and unregistered CFD broker.” In other words, “we are going to steal your money.”

The company is offering what is known as Contracts For Difference. Which is classified as a commodity.

Contracts For Difference trading is essentially a gambling wager. A person places a wager and is given a ‘ticket.’ If the wager is correct, then the gambling operation is supposed to pay off the ‘ticket.’

Contracts for Difference trading is not investing. Not even close.

Two classifications of Contracts For Difference

A Contract For Difference is technically defined as a swap commodity. There are two types of swap commodities.

The first type of swap commodity is a securities-based swap commodity. Suppose that you want to gamble that the price of Apple stock is going higher, then you would be placing a wager on a securities-based swap commodity.

The second type of swap commodity is a commodities-based swap commodity. Any Contract For Difference that is based upon the underlying price of a commodity is a swap commodity.

Suppose that you want to trade an ETF based upon the price of Crude oil, gold, or currency. This is a commodities-based swap commodity.

Some popular commodity ETF’s include GLD or SPDR Gold Trust, or USO or United States Oil Fund.

The Regulatory Framework — SEC or CFTC.

If you are trading a securities based CFD, then this product would be under the regulatory jurisdiction of the SEC, or United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

If you are trading any CFD that is based upon the price of a commodity, then this product would be under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, or Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Many of these offshore CFD brokers mistakenly believe that they are under the exclusive regulatory jurisdiction of the SEC. They are mistaken.

In fact, most of the criminal and civil regulatory actions brought by United States regulators regarding CFD trading, are brought by the CFTC.

The SEC is a larger (and much nicer) regulator than the CFTC. However, the CFTC is the cruel little brother of the regulatory world.

The last thing anyone wants is the CFTC knocking on your door. If the CFTC gets involved, then FBI agents are usually close at hand.

Contracts For Difference Trading — It’s a Felony

Let there be no mistake, Contracts For Difference trading has been banned in the United States.

According to Dodd/Frank regulations, if you are caught trading unregistered Contracts for Difference swaps contracts, you are looking at a felony, 10 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

This is true for either the “broker” or the “investor.” However, there are additional penalties for the broker.

At TradingSchools.Org, we comb through the regulatory actions of both the CFTC, SEC, and the Department of Justice.

Nearly every single month, someone is arrested or fined for trading or brokering Contracts For Difference. I find it sometimes laughable and oftentimes tragic that many people get themselves caught up in CFD trading.

Most folks will unwittingly get themselves ensnared in these illegal bookmaking operations. They open an account, lose all their money, and then sometime later, they get a ‘target’ letter from the SEC, CFTC, or the Department of Justice. These ‘target’ letters are very scary.

Then the problems are multiplied because they now have to hire a lawyer to represent them in potential criminal and civil violations. Of course, this is after they have lost all of their money at the illegal CFD broker.

Why are Contracts For Difference a Felony? Can you really go to prison?

This is a great question. On the surface, CFD trading might seem harmless. After all, it’s just a bookie located in the Bahamas or some other third world country, right?

Wrong. Let me give you an example of why the US regulators are determined to throw people in prison or levy huge fines over CFD trading.

Suppose that you are the regional sales manager of a publicly-traded company. You somehow discover that next quarter sales are going to plummet. Additionally, you discover that the company has been “cooking the books” and eventually this information is going to leak.

Once this information leaks, then the price of the stock is going to plummet and the company might go bankrupt.

This information is extremely valuable. However, since you are an employee, then you cannot use this information unless it has been publicly released. (Insider trading is illegal)

But you are worried that the 401k containing your life savings is going to disappear. And so, you borrow against your 401k and then open a CFD account at an offshore, unlicensed and unregulated broker. Since insider trading is also a felony, you must go “offshore” to hide the activity.

You then place a huge short wager that the stock is going to crash. Additionally, you tell your wife, parents, family, friends, and whoever might also make some easy cash.

Pretty soon, everyone at the company knows the company is doomed and needs to dump their shares (without anyone knowing).

A short time later, the stock crashes and the company goes bankrupt. You lose everything in your 401k, but you make everything back, and more, from the offshore bookmaker.

Additionally, your family, friends, coworkers, the CEO of the company, and even the local dog catcher also make a few million dollars by shorting the stock.

However, when you attempt to collect your bet from the CFD broker, he simply refuses to pay. (Hint: CFD brokers rarely pay off bets over $250)

In your frustration, you contact the SEC and the CFTC and report the company for not paying. This complaint triggers an investigation and the website of the CFD broker simply disappears.

A short time later, you find yourself being charged with securities fraud by an FBI agent.

As crazy as this sounds, this exact same scenario has happened hundreds of times.

This is why Contracts For Difference trading is a felony. The financial system is set up to protect long term investors. Not short term gamblers or crooked company insiders.

The regulators absolutely abhor offshore CFD brokers. These companies come and go like a fart in the wind.

People go to jail for long, long periods of time over CFD trading.

F1 Trade is SECURITIES FRAUD

If you are currently a customer of F1 Trade. Then you are probably an ex-customer of Guy Gentile at Sure Trader.

In fact, dozens of people have contacted TradingSchools.Org and reported that their brokerage accounts were automatically transferred from Sure Trader to F1 Trade.

As multiple reports suggest, “F1 Trade is the same people as Sure Trader.”

In fact, TradingSchools.Org took a screenshot of F1 Trade only a few days after Guy Gentile announced he was closing Sure Trader because of numerous securities violations. As you can see below, the F1 Trade website contained numerous references to Sure Trader.

Additionally, TradingSchools.Org documented and recorded the signup processes for F1 Trade and Sure Trader. As you can see from the following screenshot, the F1 Trade and Sure Trader account sign up process is nearly identical.

Guy Gentile: Yet another SCAM?

Of course, TradingSchools.Org has written extensively on the many financial scams of Guy Gentile and Sure Trader.

It seems like every other month, he is arrested or being dragged into court over some ridiculous penny stock pump and dump scam. Laughably, this douchebag actually thinks he is some sort of maverick activist investor. He is not. He is a serial pump and dump scam artist.

At last count, we are talking about four pump and dump schemes. The first two nearly landed him in Federal prison. After admitting involvement to FBI agents, he then agreed to become a rat and a whole bunch of his scammer friends went to prison. Everyone but him.

A short time later, he reemerges with two more, multi-million dollar pump and dump schemes which are currently under investigation with the SEC and he is being sued by both public companies.

As one lawyer wrote, “Guy Gentile is a connoisseur of scams.”

Additionally, affiliates of Sure Trader are also under Federal investigation in Miami for potentially accepting United States clients illegally in the Bahamas.

Amongst this shit storm of securities fraud, he apparently has concocted this whacky F1 Trade CFD scheme, which is currently accepting funds from United States citizens.

If Guy Gentile can be connected in any way to F1 Trade, then there is a high likelihood that he will be charged yet again. And let me repeat, offering CFD trading to United States citizens, and not being properly registered…IS A FELONY.

F1 Trade: the ultimate address for securities fraud

The exact address of F1 Trade is a well known location for securities fraudsters around the world. In fact, the F1 Trade physical address shares the exact same address as all of the following illegal CFD brokers. Have a look:

• https://www.f1trade.com/
• https://www.tradegf.com/
• https://fxfinest.com/
• https://www.wsmfx.com/
• https://yorkcg.com/
• https://finoperate.com/en/
• https://instinct.trade/index.php
• https://www.lucrotrade.com/
• https://cfdtrend.com/
• https://www.bithandel.com/

Additionally, this is the exact address also used by Lee Albaz of Binary Book and Big Option.

Lee Albaz was recently convicted in a Maryland Federal Court for running an illegal CFD and binary options brokerage. She is slated to be sentenced on December 9. The US Attorney is recommending a life sentence.

For those that remember, Lee Elbaz sued me for defamation over an article that I published about her illegal operation in 2017.

Recently, Guy Gentile has been offering a “free one-year subscription” to his latest pump and dump trading room “Day Trader Pro.” But in order to win the prize, you must “guess who I am going to sue next.”

Of course, this is a veiled threat against TradingSchools.Org because we keep exposing this serial scam artist for what he truly is — a rip off artist, a criminal, a weasel, and a serial pump and dump scammer.

But I digress.

What should you do now?

Let me repeat. If you are a United States citizen, and you are currently an F1 Trade customer — you are committing a felony. So what should you do? (Hint: get your money out)

According to the CFTC and the SEC, there is a small window to escape any potential criminal or civil violations. In particular, the regulators understand that many “small fish” get themselves caught up in these internet scams unknowingly.

Just like many people commit insider trading unknowingly, the regulators look favorably upon anyone that files a whistleblower complaint against the offending company.

Example: we opened an account at F1 Trade and then immediately filed a whistleblower complaint with the sole purpose of triggering an investigation, as well as forwarding the contact information of individuals that have been ensnared in this F1 Trade CFD trading scam. The following is a screenshot of just the header of the CFTC complaint.

Additionally, we filed a separate complaint with the SEC Office of the Whistleblower.

After you file a whistleblower complaint, what happens next? Considering that TradingSchools.Org has filed dozens of complaints, the process is simple and straight forward.

You will usually be contacted and interviewed by an investigator at the CFTC or the SEC within a couple of weeks. They will ask a few questions and the process takes about 20 minutes. Its very simple. Nobody threatens you. Just be honest about what happened and why you filed the complaint.

If the case moves forward, then you will receive a subpoena, which is an official request to produce your evidence. The subpoena is straightforward and simple to understand. The following is a screenshot of the header of a subpoena we recently received.

Earn Big Money as a Whistleblower

As many readers are aware, TradingSchools.Org has been very active with whistleblower cases since 2014. We have participated in too many to count.

These cases encompass both the CFTC and the SEC Whistleblower programs. To give you an example of how lucrative whistleblower cases have become…have a look at the SEC website. https://www.sec.gov/page/whistleblower-100million

Since 2011, the SEC has awarded $300 million to whistleblowers. The numbers are similar with the CFTC whistleblower program.

How much has TradingSchools.Org been awarded in Whistleblower cases? That’s a great question. I am not going to give you the exact amount. However, the following screenshot is a list of some recent large cases, one of which we were involved in.

Wrapping Things Up

Once again, if you are a United States citizen, and your account was transferred from Sure Trader to F1 Trade, then you need to get your money out immediately.

I have little doubt that F1 Trade is going to suffer the same fate as everything else Guy Gentile touches — a regulatory action. But this latest scheme appears to be his most audacious yet. F1 Trade will be shut down.

Once your money is out, then immediately file a whistleblower complaint with both the SEC and the CFTC. The following links will take you to the proper venue.

SEC Whistleblower Complaint Form

CFTC Whistleblower Complaint Form

Thanks for reading.

-Emmett