California Trader David Bryant Admitted Promising 200% Returns From a Fund That Never Traded

Case from 2016 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Aug. 17, 2016). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

David Bryant, a commodities trader from Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago on Aug. 17, 2016, to one count of wire fraud. He admitted telling investors that his Bryant Family Investment Fund LLC earned more than 200% a year, when the fund had done no trading in its name and his personal trading with client money lost heavily [1].

Outcome: Bryant was sentenced on Dec. 22, 2016. Judgment was entered Dec. 27, 2016, and amended March 31, 2017, according to the court docket [3]. We did not find the terms of the sentence in the docket entries or public reports we reviewed. In a separate civil case brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal judge in May 2016 ordered him to pay a $3 million civil penalty and $3,087,343 in restitution and permanently banned him from trading and registration [2].

How the scheme worked

According to the plea agreement, as described by prosecutors [1]:

1. The claim: Bryant said his fund had generated profits of more than 200% a year.
2. The reality: The fund did no trading in its name. Bryant traded client money in his personal accounts, some of them in Chicago, and lost large sums.
3. Fake paperwork: He created fictitious trading records and account statements showing growing balances.
4. Ponzi payments: He paid some investors with other investors' money.
5. A forged deed: Part of the money for those payments came from a bank loan he obtained by forging his mother's signature on a property deed and using it as collateral.

He admitted obtaining about $5.1 million from investors and a financial institution and causing losses of about $3.6 million [1]. The CFTC's order found that many of the people who invested from June 2014 to December 2015 were family and friends [2].

The person charged

David Bryant, of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. (63 at plea)

• CFTC civil case: complaint filed Dec. 2, 2015; consent order in May 2016 requiring a $3 million penalty and $3,087,343 in restitution, with permanent trading and registration bans [2].
• Plea (Aug. 17, 2016): guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly [1].
• Sentencing (Dec. 22, 2016): sentencing held; judgment entered Dec. 27, 2016, and amended March 31, 2017; terms not found [3].
• Investigation: FBI Chicago, with help from the CFTC [1].

Red flags

• Triple-digit annual returns. No legitimate commodity pool reliably earns 200% a year.
• A "fund" that has no trading account in its own name.
• An operator who isn't registered with the CFTC or National Futures Association as a commodity pool operator.
• Pitches aimed at family and friends that skip formal documents.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Check registration with NFA BASIC (nfa.futures.org) before giving money to a commodity pool.
2. Insist that pool money be held in the pool's own name at a registered futures commission merchant.
3. Report suspected commodity fraud to the CFTC at 866-366-2382 or cftc.gov/complaint.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
David Bryant, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Kennelly)	Pleaded guilty Aug. 17, 2016, to wire fraud; sentenced Dec. 22, 2016 (terms not found); CFTC consent order May 2016	[1], [2], [3]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "California Commodities Trader Admits His Investment Scam Caused a Loss to Clients of More Than $3 Million," Aug. 17, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/california-commodities-trader-admits-his-investment-scam-caused-loss-clients-more-3
2. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Release No. 7373-16, "Federal Court Orders California Resident David Bryant to Pay More than $6 Million in Restitution and Penalties for Fraud and Misappropriation," May 25, 2016. https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/7373-16
3. CourtListener, docket for United States v. Bryant, No. 1:16-cr-00494 (N.D. Ill.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/46294728/united-states-v-bryant/

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