A $204 million default judgment against a binary options network that never showed up in court
The CFTC charged Canadian brothers David, Jonathan and Joshua Cartu, Canadian-Israeli brothers Leeav and Nati Peretz, Texas-based associate Ryan Masten, and four related companies in September 2020 with operating a binary options fraud that took in more than $165 million from US customers through the brands BeeOptions, Glenridge Capital and Rumelia Capital. None of the defendants appeared to defend the case, and in March 2024 a federal court entered a default judgment ordering over $204 million in disgorgement and penalties.
- Year
- 2024
- Where
- Canada, IL, United States
- Outcome
- Sanctioned
- Reported loss
- $165.0 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Binary options fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-30
The facts, as recorded
- The CFTC filed its complaint on September 2, 2020 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging the defendants operated an illegal, off-exchange binary options scheme from at least May 1, 2013 through April 29, 2018 that took in more than $165 million.
- Individual defendants named were David Cartu, Jonathan Cartu and Joshua Cartu (Canadian), Leeav Peretz and Nati Peretz (Canadian-Israeli, based in Israel), and Ryan Masten, a business associate based in Austin, Texas; corporate defendants included All Out Marketing Limited, BareIt Media LLC d/b/a SignalPush, Blue Moon Investments Ltd. (Seychelles) and Orlando Union Inc.
- The complaint alleged call centres, primarily in Israel, targeted US residents with claims of guaranteed returns between 60 and 85 percent, misrepresented brokers' identities, expertise and location, manipulated trade results to force customer losses, and processed fraudulent credit card charges.
- The court entered a final default judgment on March 14, 2024, after the defendants failed to appear or defend the case, ordering $51,155,645 in disgorgement and a $153,466,935 civil monetary penalty, more than $204 million combined, joint and several among the defendants.
- The judgment permanently bans the defendants from registering with the CFTC and from trading on any CFTC-regulated market, and permanently enjoins them from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.
Why this case matters
This is the largest binary options judgment against a single network’s named individuals documented on this page at the time it was entered, and it shows what happens when defendants simply do not contest a civil fraud case: the court can still enter a judgment for the full amount alleged, even though no criminal charge was ever filed and none of the six named individuals has been reported in custody.
Three brand names, one operation
Customers dealing with BeeOptions, Glenridge Capital or Rumelia Capital were, according to the CFTC, dealing with the same underlying operation, run through a web of entities including a Seychelles-based company, Blue Moon Investments, and marketing and payment-processing businesses registered separately from the trading brands themselves.
A judgment with nobody to collect from
The gap between a $204 million judgment and any dollar actually recovered is the defining feature of this case. The CFTC’s own announcement is a legal victory, a permanent ban and an enforceable debt, not a report that any of the six defendants has paid, been arrested, or lost specific assets; the defendants’ whereabouts and financial position were not addressed in the CFTC’s public statements on the judgment.
The caveat
This was a default judgment, entered because the defendants failed to appear or respond, not the result of a trial on the merits or an admission of wrongdoing by any defendant. The dollar figures, factual allegations and characterizations of the scheme in this case file are the CFTC’s allegations, treated by the court as established only because no defendant contested them; none of the named individuals has been reported as criminally charged, convicted or arrested in connection with this scheme.
Sources
- CFTC Charges 5 Canadians, 1 American, and 4 Companies in $165 Million Global Binary Options Fraud Scheme. US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Accessed 2026-09-30. Supports: The September 2020 filing date, the court, the named individual and corporate defendants, the $165 million figure, the 2013 to 2018 scheme period, and the fabricated 60 to 85 percent return claims.
- Federal Court Orders Binary Options Firm and Owners to Pay Over $204 Million in Monetary Sanctions for Fraudulent Binary Options Scheme. US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Accessed 2026-09-30. Supports: The March 14, 2024 default judgment date, the $51,155,645 disgorgement figure, the $153,466,935 civil penalty, the total exceeding $204 million, and the permanent registration and trading bans.