Sourced record

Enforcement actions against precious metals dealers

Plenty of articles mention that regulators have gone after gold dealers. Almost none of them say against whom, for how much, or where you can read the filing. This page does.

Every figure below is quoted from the regulator's own press release, and every case links to it. Where a case was charged and later settled, both amounts are listed separately, because they are different things: a charge is an allegation, and a consent order is usually a settlement in which the defendant does not admit the findings.

6 cases. Sources last checked 30 July 2026.

TMTE, Inc. d/b/a Metals.com

  • Chase Metals, LLC
  • Chase Metals, Inc.
  • Barrick Capital, Inc.
  • Lucas Asher (a/k/a Lucas Thomas Erb, Luke Asher)
  • Simon Batashvili
Charged 25 September 2020 · more than $185 million

The CFTC and 30 state regulators charged the defendants with a nationwide scheme that solicited more than $185 million from investors, of which more than $140 million came from retirement savings.

CFTC press release 8254-20

The mark-up

Overcharges averaged from 100 percent to more than 300 percent over the prevailing market price.

Regulators

CFTC and 30 state regulators, members of NASAA

Court

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Safeguard Metals LLC

  • Jeffrey Ikahn (also known as Jeffrey Santulan and Jeffrey Hill)
Charged 2022 · $68 million

The CFTC and 27 state securities regulatory agencies filed a joint action alleging a $68 million scheme targeting elderly persons nationwide.

CFTC press release 8489-22
Ordered 20 November 2025 · over $51 million combined

Sanctions and restitution of $25.6 million in restitution to victims and a $25.6 million civil monetary penalty in the CFTC matter, alongside $25.6 million in disgorgement and a $25.6 million civil monetary penalty in the parallel SEC case.

CFTC press release 9139-25

Regulators

CFTC, SEC and 30 state securities regulatory agencies, members of NASAA

Court

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Red Rock Secured LLC

  • Shade-Johnson Kelly (a/k/a Sean Kelly), Owner and CEO
  • Anthony Spencer, Senior Account Executive
Charged 15 May 2023 · $61.8 million

The CFTC, with California's DFPI and Hawaii's DCCA, alleged the defendants fraudulently solicited $61.8 million and charged approximately $34.4 million in mark-ups on coin purchases to over 950 customers. The SEC filed a parallel civil action.

CFTC press release 8704-23
Ordered 23 April 2024 · over $56 million

A consent order required the defendants collectively to pay $38,984,313.90 in restitution, disgorge $5.1 million in ill-gotten gains and pay $12.25 million in civil monetary penalties, with permanent trading and registration bans.

CFTC press release 8898-24

The mark-up

Mark-ups on Canadian Red-Tailed Hawk coins were represented as 4 to 29 percent, or 1 to 5 percent, while actual mark-ups ranged from approximately 100 to 130 percent.

Regulators

CFTC, SEC, California DFPI and Hawaii DCCA

Court

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Regal Assets LLC

  • Tyler G. Gallagher, Owner and CEO
  • Leah Donoso, former President
Charged 27 September 2023 · more than $21 million

The CFTC and California's DFPI jointly alleged that the defendants solicited customers to move funds, primarily from tax-deferred retirement accounts including IRAs, 401(k) plans and the U.S. Government Thrift Savings Plan, into precious metals through self-directed IRAs, and then misappropriated more than $21 million from more than 120 customers rather than buying the metal.

CFTC press release 8791-23
Ordered 15 October 2024 · $49 million

Judge Fernando M. Olguin issued orders of default judgment requiring the defendants to pay, jointly and severally, over $21.9 million in restitution to defrauded customers and civil monetary penalties of over $27.3 million, with permanent injunctions. The court appointed the National Futures Association as Monitor to make distributions to customers.

CFTC press release 9001-24

The mark-up

This case was not about mark-ups. According to the complaint the metal was in many cases simply never bought, and the money went to the defendants instead.

Regulators

CFTC and California DFPI

Court

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Fisher Capital LLC

  • AMS Consulting Solutions LLC d/b/a Fisher Capital
  • Alexander Spellane (a/k/a Alexander Overlie)
Charged 25 April 2023 · more than $30 million

The CFTC alleged the defendants persuaded hundreds of elderly persons nationwide to invest more than $30 million in precious metals, primarily using funds from customers' retirement savings.

CFTC press release 8694-23

The mark-up

Coins were sold at prices the CFTC described as double or even triple the prevailing market value.

Regulators

CFTC

Court

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Dallas and Los Angeles area precious metals dealers

Charged 2023 · over $7 million

The CFTC charged an ongoing scheme that garnered over $7 million from retirement accounts. See the source for the full list of defendants.

CFTC press release 8784-23

Regulators

CFTC

Court

See source

What the pattern is

Read the mark-up lines together and the same scheme appears in every case. The metal itself is real. What is not real is the price. A coin worth its melt value plus a few percent is sold at double or triple, and the difference is gone the moment the transaction closes. In the Red Rock matter the regulators put a number on the gap: customers were told 4 to 29 percent, and the actual mark-up ran from roughly 100 to 130 percent.

The one question that tests for it

Ask for the buy price and the same-day sell price on one identical product, in writing. The gap between those two numbers is the mark-up. A dealer who will not put both on paper has told you what the mark-up is. That is not a rule of thumb, it is the exact thing every case on this page turns on.

From the regulators themselves

Joint Effort Launches to Warn Retirees about Precious Metals Fraud and Gives Tips on Protecting Themselves

CFTC press release 8881-24

Corrections and additions

If a case is missing, a figure has moved, or a matter has been resolved since we last checked, tell us and we will update it with the source. Reach us through our contact page. This page is free to cite and to quote.