CFTC to serve The Traders Domain defs via alt service
The CFTC has been given permission to serve several The Traders Domain defendants via alternate service.
Named defendants in the CFTC’s November 18th motion are all classified as “foreign defendants”.
- Ted Safranko – “a Canadian citizen with addresses in Ontario and British Columbia, Canada”
- Negus-Romvari – “a Canadian citizen who is currently believed to be residing in Mexico”
- Traders Domain – “a corporation registered under the laws of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines”
- TrublueFX – “a corporation registered under the laws of Saint Lucia”
- Juan Jose Herman – “a U.S. citizen and resident of Florida [who] has apparently “left his home state of Florida in August 2024 on a flight bound for Dubai, United Arab Emirates” and has not returned since””
Specific to Herman, the CFTC’s The Traders Domain lawsuit was filed in October 2024. It’s unclear whether Herman knew he was under federal investigation but his choice to flee to Dubai is not likely coincidental.
What we do know is back in March 2024, Herman was a named defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by one of his victims.
Sam Lee’s recent detainment aside, Dubai has long been a haven for criminals seeking to evade justice.
Safranko’s whereabouts remain unknown but I wouldn’t be surprised if he too turned up in Dubai. Mexico is also a possibility.
On November 25th, the court granted the CFTC permission to serve The Traders Domain “foreign defendants” via “email and website”.
From the court’s order;
We’ll say one more quick word about Defendant Herman who, unlike the rest of the Foreign Defendants, is a United States citizen with an apparent residence in Florida.
Although we are hesitant to authorize alternative service of process on United States citizens, the Plaintiff has made numerous attempts to serve Herman between October 8, 2024, and November 6, 2024, such as by “contact[ing] two counsel known to have represented Herman in two separate investigations and litigations[,]” attempting to personally serve Herman at three different addresses in South Florida, “attempt[ing] to contact Herman via telephone at three telephone numbers associated with him[,]” and speaking to a property manager to confirm if Herman still lived at the property and if he had a forwarding address for Herman.
When all these attempts failed, the Plaintiff “requested from U. S. Customs and Border Protection (‘CBP’) an international travel history summary for Herman” and learned that Herman had left the United States for Dubai in August 2024 and had not returned as of November 12, 2024.
Since the Plaintiff made several good-faith (but failed) attempts to serve Herman in the United States—and given the evidence that Herman is presently residing in a foreign jurisdiction—we agree that serving Herman by email and website publication comports with due process and is reasonably calculated to apprise Herman of this action.
Juan Herman, aka. JJ Herman, is a co-owner of Algo FX Capital Advisor LLC.
Algo Capital Advisor LLC is/was a Delaware shell company used to launder The Traders Domain investor funds.
In related news, an upcoming preliminary injunction hearing has been rescheduled.
Due to an attorney scheduling conflict, the hearing will now take place on January 6th.