The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been busy, charging two men with fraud, one for an alleged commodities scheme and the other for an alleged foreign currency Ponzi scheme.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has charged a California man with operating a fraudulent commodity scheme and a Peachtree City, Georgia resident with operating a multi-million dollar foreign currency Ponzi scheme, specifically targeting persons of the Christian faith to invest in the scheme.

The CFTC alleges that Eldon Gresham solicited more than $15 million from more than 75 investors to trade off-exchange forex contracts. Gresham allegedly claimed to prospective investors that he was successful trading forex because the “Lord had blessed him.” The Peachtree City, Ga., man also told prospective customers that he was offering his program to a limited number of fellow Christians for a limited time, according to the complaint.

Gresham solicited some customers to invest supposedly by opening and funding an account for them based on their friendship over the years, according to the complaint. After receiving a string of emailed statements showing purported extraordinary monthly returns—of between 4% and 13%—many investors began to contribute their personal funds into accounts with Gresham.

He allegedly persuaded some investors to temporarily withdraw their retirement funds by telling them that he could earn 5% to 10% a month on these funds. Additionally, Gresham told investors that their risk was limited because he was a conservative trader; he told a least one investor that her investment with Gresham was insured by the federal government and the biggest forex exchange in the U.S., the agency said.

According to the complaint, as the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme unfolded in late 2008, Gresham told concerned investors that all their funds with him were safe and would be returned to them when due. The CFTC alleges that these statements were lies because Gresham never had sufficient funds on hand to return all customers’ principal, much less purported returns on their investment.

According to the complaint, Gresham lost money in the limited forex trading in which he traded, and any purported profits paid to his investors came from either existing Gresham customers’ original investments or money invested by subsequent Gresham customers.

The complaint alleges that, at most, slightly over $2 million of the more than $15 million that Gresham solicited from investors was deposited into Gresham’s forex trading accounts. Of this slightly over $2 million amount, more than $1.4 million was withdrawn by Gresham. At least $14.4 million, therefore, was either misappropriated by Gresham or returned to his customers as part of the Ponzi scheme.

In addition, the complaint names as relief defendants Werner Beiersdoerfer, and Interveston Wines, and Kirk Gresham, Gresham’s son, because they allegedly received funds as a result of Gresham’s fraudulent conduct to which they have no legitimate entitlement.

Gresham has no known connection with Gresham Investment Management, a registered commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor.

Also, David Michael Kogan and his firm, First Capital Futures Group have with charged with operating a fraudulent commodity scheme involving 58 investors resulting in more than $3 million in investor losses.

The CFTC complaint alleges that Kogan fraudulently solicited investors to trade options on commodity futures contracts by misrepresenting and failing to disclose material facts such as the risks involved in trading options, the existence of certain options positions in customer accounts, and the dismal performance record of First Capital in trading options.

According to the complaint, Kogan and other First Capital brokers repeatedly told investors that they would make substantial amounts of money in a very short time by trading options. The firm routinely failed to disclose adequately the risk of loss inherent in trading options.

The complaint specifically alleges that, despite mounting trading losses, Kogan, as well as other First Capital brokers, told investors that Kogan had “made millionaires out of several customers” and that many First Capital customers were making money. However, First Capital customers instead lost more than $3 million, of which more than $2.2 million was collected as commissions and fees.

The CFTC complaint seeks to enjoin defendants from violating commodity laws and from participating in any activity related to trading in any commodity, demands a return of funds for defrauded customers, repayment of ill-gotten gains, an award of civil monetary penalties, and other relief.