CFTC: Texas man and his firm ordered to pay over $13 million for fraud

On 3 November 2026, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had secured a federal court order directing Walter Dunning Larrick III, a former resident of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Cambridge Financial Advisors LLC, a Texas company he owns and controls, to pay more than $13 million for commodities fraud, according to the agency's announcement as reported by FX News Group. The ruling was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the same court where the CFTC had filed its case against the two defendants.

A civil case opened in August 2023

The 2026 decision closes the civil complaint filed by the CFTC on 23 August 2023 and announced in its press release number 8768-23. According to that complaint, the defendants collected at least $3,644,817.52 from approximately 70 participants, over a period running from at least November 2020 to at least January 2023.

Participants believed they were financing trading in futures and options on futures, covering in particular natural gas, oil and gold. The complaint describes a very different use of the money: transfers to offshore accounts in Costa Rica, payment of Larrick's personal expenses, and payments to existing participants in the manner of a Ponzi scheme. To conceal the misappropriation, the defendants sent false account statements showing fictitious trading gains.

In 2023, these elements were allegations made by the regulator. The figures from the complaint relate to the amounts allegedly raised from participants; they do not amount to a breakdown of the more than $13 million total now ordered by the court, and the two numbers should not be confused.

The sales pitch described in the complaint

According to the complaint, prospective participants were told that Cambridge had been in business for more than 20 years, that their money would remain in a bank account in the United States, and that a hedging strategy would guarantee a profit whether prices went up or down.

The CFTC complaint also cites other claims made to participants: contracts were supposedly bought in large “blocks” at a discounted price, a 15% commission would be taken on gains, and funds could be withdrawn at any time. When participants asked for their money, the defendants either did not respond or delayed payments, the CFTC complaint states.

In this case, the CFTC thanked Costa Rica's securities regulator, the Superintendencia General de Valores (SUGEVAL), for its assistance.

Recovery remains an open question

The breakdown of the more than $13 million total between its different components has not been specified. Nor has it been specified whether the amounts ordered can actually be collected from the defendants, or whether, and when, the roughly 70 participants identified in the 2023 complaint might be compensated. A court order to pay does not by itself guarantee that victims will see their money returned, particularly when funds were moved offshore, as the complaint alleged in this case.

What it means for traders

The decision does not create any new rule. Trading accounts, leverage and fees at brokers or prop firms are unaffected: this is a fraud case targeting individual investors who believed they were placing money with a trading fund. Its main value for traders lies in the warning signs it documents.

Based on the complaint, several features of the scheme would warrant caution in any similar offer:

• a profit presented as guaranteed whether markets rise or fall, thanks to a hedging strategy;
• contracts said to be bought in discounted “blocks”;
• claims of long-standing experience and of money held in a US bank account;
• withdrawals promised at any time, followed by unanswered or delayed withdrawal requests;
• funds ending up in offshore accounts when investors had been promised a domestic account.

The case also shows the limits of statements produced by the manager himself, since the account statements sent to participants here were false. In practice, funds held at a registered futures commission merchant, with statements issued directly by that firm, would offer an independent means of checking balances.

The CFTC asks the public to check whether a firm is registered with it before investing, using the NFA BASIC database, and to be wary of any unregistered entity. The agency also refers investors to its fraud advisory on commodity pool schemes. Anyone wishing to report suspected fraud can use the CFTC's toll-free line, 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382), or its online form. According to the CFTC, a whistleblower may receive between 10% and 30% of the sanctions collected.