The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Wisconsin Department of Justice, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently filed a joint civil enforcement action against TMTE Inc., (a/k/a Metals.com), Chase Metals Inc., Chase Metals LLC, Barrick Capital Inc., Tower Equity and their owners, Lucas Thomas Erb (a/k/a Lucas Asher), and Simon Batashvili, according to a release from the state.
The defendants are accused of perpetrating a fraudulent precious metals investment scheme that targeted elderly investors. The case involves more than $185 million in customer funds, including $2.7 million from Wisconsinites.
