Regulators fine Hallandale Beach company and its owner $1.3M

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Nina Lincoff

Reporter- South Florida Business Journal

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Hallandale Beach-based Gold Distributors Inc. and its owner Jordan Cain have been slapped with sanctions of more than $1.3 million on charges of illegal, off-exchange transactions in precious metals.

The order comes from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which filed a complaint against Cain and his company in March.

It alleges that between Jan. 2012 and Feb. 2013, Cain and his company entered into, executed, and confirmed the execution of fraudulent gold and silver transactions.

Cain and his company introduced 27 customers to precious metals wholesaler and clearing firm AmeriFirst Management LLC. The customers were told that they were borrowing money from AmeriFirst to purchase gold and/or silver, according to the CTFC's complaint. During this process, Gold Distributors and Cain were acting as a dealer for AmeriFirst.

At least $797,577 was transferred to AmeriFirst for purchase of precious metals, and Cain and his company received at least $337,266 in commissions.

Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, financed transactions of this nature are illegal unless the precious metals are delivered with 28 days.

Cain, Gold Distributors LLC, and AmeriFirst never delivered any gold or silver to those 27 customers.

In a separate filing in July 2013, the CTFC charged AmeriFirst and its principals with fraud. AmeriFirst and its principals were later found liable for illegal off-exchange precious metal transactions and hit with $35 million in sanctions.

Nina Lincoff covers banking, finance, and insurance. Get the latest banking news with our free daily newsletter. Click here to subscribe.