WASHINGTON — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered a final judgement against Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Ikahn (aka Jeffrey Santulan and Jeffrey Hill) ordering them to pay $25.6 million in restitution to victims and a $25.6 million civil monetary penalty for operating a nationwide, precious metals fraud.
The CFTC obtained the order Sept. 30 in coordination with 30 state securities regulatory agencies that are members of the North American Securities Administrators Association.
“This resolution shows the impact the CFTC and state regulatory agencies have when joining forces to combat fraud and is a testament to the hard work of staff at the CFTC and our state regulator co-plaintiffs,” said Charles Marvine, Acting Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Fraud and General Enforcement Task Force.
Previously, the court entered a consent order that found the defendants liable for running a nationwide fraudulent scheme that took in approximately $68 million from more than 450 customers – most of them elderly or retirement-aged. According to the order, the defendants lured customers with false claims about the risk of their traditional retirement investments and then sold them silver coins and other precious metals at inflated prices by misrepresenting their price markups. These undisclosed markups caused customers substantial and immediate losses. The consent order also barred the defendants from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as well as various state laws and regulations as charged in the complaint. It further prohibited them from trading or registering with the CFTC and the participating states. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8812-23].
These rulings resolve the CFTC and state regulators’ February 2022 enforcement action. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8489-22].
In a separate case brought by the Securities Exchange Commission, the court ordered the defendants to pay $25.6 million in disgorgement and a $25.6 million civil monetary penalty SEC v. Safeguard Metals, Case No. 2:22-cv-00693 JFW (C.D. Cal. May 2, 2025). Amounts paid in either the SEC or CFTC actions will be offset by the amounts owed in the other.
Orders requiring repayment to victims may not always result in the recovery of any or all funds, as wrongdoers may lack sufficient assets. The agency will continue to fight vigorously to protect customers and hold wrongdoers accountable.
The CFTC and NASAA thank the SEC for its help.
The following NASAA state regulatory agencies were CFTC’s co-plaintiffs in this action and the CFTC thanks them for their assistance: Alabama Securities Commission; Arizona Corporation Commission; Arkansas Securities Department; California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation; State of Connecticut Department of Banking; State of Florida, Office of Financial Regulation; State of Hawaii, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Idaho Department of Finance; Office of the Secretary of State, Illinois Securities Department; Indiana Securities Division; Iowa Insurance Commissioner Douglas M. Ommen; Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions; State of Maryland Ex Rel the Maryland Securities Commissioner; Attorney General Dana Nessel on Behalf of the People of the State of Michigan; Mississippi Secretary of State; Missouri Commissioner of Securities; Nebraska Department of Banking & Finance; Securities Division New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department; The People of the State of New York by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York; North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State; Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Securities; Oklahoma Department of Securities; State of Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services and Attorney General Dan Rayfield; South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson; South Dakota Department of Labor & Regulation; Commissioner of the Tennessee Securities Department of Commerce and Insurance; Utah Division of Securities; Vermont Department of Financial Regulation; Washington State Department of Financial Institutions; and the State of Wisconsin.
The CFTC DOE staff responsible for this action are Steve Turley, Christopher Reed, and Charles Marvine, along with former staff members Jeff Le Riche, Clemon Ashley, and Paul Fluke.
CFTC’s Precious Metals Customer Fraud Advisory
The CFTC has issued several customer-protection fraud advisories, including the Precious Metals Fraud Advisory, which alerts customers to precious metals fraud and lists simple ways to spot precious metals scams.
Report suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws to the Division of Enforcement via a toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382) or file a tip or complaint online or contact the Whistleblower Office. Whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected, paid from the Customer Protection Fund financed through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the CEA.