Overview

• The court entered a consent order against Ross Baldwin and National Coin Broker and a prior default judgment against Robert Jeffrey Johnson, Kathleen Hook, Precious Commodities Inc., and NCB Wholesale Co.
• Defendants are jointly liable for $6,923,919 in restitution, with the defaulted parties also ordered to pay an additional $11.5 million civil monetary penalty.
• The rulings impose permanent injunctions plus trading and registration bans on all defendants, concluding the CFTC’s civil enforcement action filed in 2021.
• In a parallel criminal case, Johnson pleaded guilty to wire fraud, Hook to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Baldwin to multiple fraud counts and making false statements to CFTC officials.
• Investigators say the 2014–2019 “Silver Lease Program” never held customer bullion, relied on fake insurance and silverlease.com marketing, and promised 3.9%–5% monthly payouts to at least about 60 customers, while the NFA will distribute restitution and the CFTC warns recovery may be limited.