Former FBI Agent Allegedly Defrauded Investors, According to Other FBI Agents
Jeffrey Royer has been charged in a federal court with allegedly participating in a foreign exchange trading scheme. Photo credit: LinkedIn.
Former FBI Special Agent and Prison Inmate
From around 1996 to 2001, Royer was an FBI Special Agent, according to the press release. In 2005, however, he was found guilty of federal charges concerning securities fraud.
Royer was convicted of obstruction of justice, racketeering, conspiracy, securities fraud and witness tampering and was sentenced to 72 months in prison for his crimes, according to the 2008 appeal documents. His 2008 appeal was denied, and he served the rest of his sentence until 2012, when he was released for time served.
Newest Alleged Scam: FOREX
By 2020, Royer had allegedly created the illusion that he was an established forex trader, which is speculating one currency’s price with another one with the intent to try to turn a profit. With his perceived success, Royer allegedly convinced investors to put funds into his forex account for a guaranteed profit return, according to the indictment.
The setup for the alleged scheme started in September 2019, when Royer allegedly opened and operated a personal forex trading account, according to the indictment. In February 2020, Royer reportedly started soliciting investors, some of whom had little or no experience, to invest funds into his forex trading account.
Prosecutors alleged that Royer informed the investors that he would pool their money with his own funds to generate returns using forex trading, according to the indictment. He allegedly sweetened the pot, saying that he aimed for a 10% per month return on investment for the investors and would keep anything above 10%.
Royer sent regular emails to the investors, falsely reporting their profits, prosecutors allege. Royer also allegedly held in-person meetings with investors and potential investors where he reported his purported profit earnings, encouraged investment into his forex account, and asked for referrals. Over the next few years, in April 2021 and May 2022, Royer reportedly held in-person meetings to encourage a new round of funds to his forex account and more referrals from the current investors.
Royer allegedly omitted much-needed information when discussing the process of his forex business, according to the indictment. Royer reportedly told investors that they could make withdrawals when they couldn’t. He allegedly didn’t tell his investors that he was losing money monthly in 2021 and 2022 instead of gaining the profit he purported in their monthly progress emails. He also didn’t disclose that some investment funds went into his personal bank accounts instead of in the forex funds, as he promised.
Royer also allegedly lied about his career background and did not disclose to his investors that he never registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which any individual or firm must be appropriately registered with before they can legally trade commodities, according to the indictment. Royer also reportedly omitted his past conviction when speaking to his investors about his past experiences.
Finally Told Investors Their Money Was Gone
In June 2023, months after allegedly losing the investor’s money, ceasing all trades and continuing to ask for funds, Royer broke the news that the money was gone, prosecutors say.
Royer could get up to 55 years in prison if convicted.
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