Former FBI Agent Indicted in Foreign Currency Trading Scam

DETROIT - A federal grand jury has indicted Jeffrey A. Royer, 61, of Montrose, Colorado, for defrauding investors in a foreign currency ("forex") trading scheme, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment, which was unsealed today, charges Royer with one count of commodities fraud and one count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment and other court records, Royer was a Special Agent with the FBI from approximately 1996 to 2001. In 2005, Royer was convicted of federal securities fraud, among other charges, and was released from federal prison in 2012 after serving his sentence of imprisonment. From early 2020 through June 2023, Royer executed an investment fraud scheme involving his personal forex trading account. As part of the scheme, Royer fraudulently solicited and accepted over $1 million from various investors in the Eastern District of Michigan and elsewhere. He then misappropriated the money or lost it trading forex. Royer did not disclose the misappropriation or the extent of his trading losses. Instead, Royer concealed the truth from investors, including by providing investors with false monthly account statements that showed investment gains rather than the trading losses that Royer actually incurred.

"Investment fraud is simply a sophisticated means to steal people's money," said U.S. Attorney Ison. "Our office has an unwavering commitment to prosecuting any and all fraudsters who take advantage of the residents of this District."

"I am grateful to our FBI Michigan team, alongside members from the FBI Grand Junction Resident Agency and the Montrose Police Department in Colorado, for their investigative work and arrest in this case," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "Today's indictment of former FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Royer is important to ensure the public, regardless of an individual's current or former profession, if you engage in foreign currency trading schemes, the FBI will investigate and arrest you."

Law enforcement has identified many investors from southeast Michigan. Potential victims are encouraged to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The defendant faces up to twenty-five years in prison on the commodities fraud charge and up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Trevor Broad and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.