Former NYPD Officer-Turned Forex Investor Indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Jason Rodriguez with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  The indictment relates to Rodriguez’s role as the Chief Operating Officer of Technical Trading Team, LLC (Technical Trading Team), a foreign exchange-focused (forex) investment fund he founded in 2020.  Rodriguez was arrested this morning and his initial appearance is scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced arrest and indictment.

“As alleged, the victims trusted Rodriguez with millions of dollars for what they were assured would be safe investments, supported by the defendant’s claim that he had quit the NYPD because he had become so successful at trading, which was untrue,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “Rodriguez also falsely promised the victims that their investments would be safe because there would be guardrails over his trading activity to limit the risks.  In reality, Rodriguez ignored those guardrails and lost millions in investor funds and also misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars which he used to pay for luxury car rentals, travel and other personal expenses.”

“Jason Rodriguez falsely represented his time as an NYPD officer to earn the trust of prospective investors, to whom he then made alleged false promises that cost his victims millions of dollars. He withheld the reality of his failed trades and used the investment funds on his personal desires. The FBI will hold accountable anyone who manipulates others, especially for financial gain in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.

According to the indictment, Rodriguez founded Technical Trading Team in April 2020.  Rodriguez pitched the fund as a forex-focused investment fund, with Rodriguez, who served as Chief Operating Officer, in charge of all trading.  Rodriguez promised investors that Technical Trading Team would have a “loss reserve account” that could be used to repay investors if the company lost money trading, that Rodriguez would never risk more than 1% of assets under management on any single trade and would not hold positions open overnight.  Each of these promises was meant to assure investors that their investment would be safe.  Rodriguez and Technical Trading Team broke all of these promises and as Rodriguez lost more and more money in the forex markets, he used new investor money to pay older investors promised investment returns. 

Prior to founding Technical Trading Team, Rodriguez served as an NYPD officer for approximately seven years. During the solicitation process, Rodriguez told prospective Technical Trading Team investors that he had quit the NYPD because he had become so successful at forex trading. The Technical Trading Team presentation similarly represented that Rodriguez’s “zealous ambition for trading took precedence resulting in the end of his law enforcement career . . .”  Rodriguez failed to disclose that he resigned from the NYPD after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor crime and incurring a number of disciplinary infractions.

To date, of the approximately $4.8 million in investor funds wired to accounts controlled by Rodriguez between April 2020 and September 2022, approximately $3.5 million has never been paid back to the investors.

The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The government’s case is being handled by the Business and Securities Fraud Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.  Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Weintraub is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

JASON RODRIGUEZ
Age:  37
Bellerose, Queens

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-79