U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Peter Kambolin
Pending Criminal Division Cases
United States v. Peter Kambolin
Court Docket No.: 1:23-CR-20372
Court Assigned: This case is assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr., U.S. Courthouse, 400 North Miami Avenue, Miami, FL 33128 before Senior Judge Paul C. Chuck.
Latest Updates: On January 22, 2024, defendant Kambolin was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, defendant Kambolin has been ordered to pay $1,208,503 in restitution.
Criminal Charges: Peter Kambolin, a dual U.S.-Russian national residing in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, has been charged with conspiracy to commit commodities fraud for his alleged involvement in a cherry-picking scheme in which he fraudulently allocated trades for futures contracts. Kambolin owned and was the manager and CEO of Systematic Alpha Management, LLC (SAM). For over a decade, Kambolin solicited individuals and institutional asset managers to invest through SAM. In 2018, Kambolin proclaimed that SAM was a registered commodity trading advisor (CTA) and commodity pool operator (CPO), which offered algorithm-based trading strategies that customers could participate in via commodity pools in the Cayman Islands.
According to court documents, between January 2019 and November 2021, Kambolin operated two commodity pools, one of which he claimed focused on trading cryptocurrency futures, and another focused on foreign-exchange (FX) futures. Kambolin often executed trades for these pools together with trades he executed on behalf of his proprietary accounts, one of which was affiliated with an offshore LLC incorporated in the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Although CFTC regulations require asset managers to equitably allocate trades on behalf of customers, Kambolin inequitably allocated trades between the commodity pools and proprietary accounts.
For more information about the charges in this case, please see below:
Victim Impact Statement: If you would like to submit a Victim Impact Statement, you may do so by mailing the Victim Impact Statement below (or a letter to the court) to: Victim Witness Unit, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 453, Washington, DC 20530. You also may submit the Victim Impact Statement via email at Victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov or by fax at: (202) 514-3708.
The information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case. If you have any questions, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at VictimAssistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.
Presumption of Innocence: It is important to keep in mind that a criminal indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that presumption requires both the court and our office to take certain steps to ensure that justice is served.
Crime Victims’ Rights Act and Right to Retain Counsel: Because charges have been filed in this case in federal court, you also may be entitled to the following rights, according to the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, Title 18, United States Code, Section 3771: (1) The right to be reasonably protected from the accused; (2) The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused; (3) The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding; (4) The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding; (5) The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case; (6) The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law; (7) The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay; (8) The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy; (9) The right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement; and (10) The right to be informed of the rights under this section and the services described in section 503(c) of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 10607(c)) and provided contact information for the Office of the Victims’ Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice. The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771) applies only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus individuals may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which the individual is a victim was not charged.
Section 3771(c)(2) of this Act requires that we advise you that you have the right to retain counsel. Although the statute specifically sets forth your right to seek advice of an attorney with regard to your rights under the statute, there is no requirement that you retain counsel. The Government may not recommend any specific counsel, nor can the Government (or the Court) pay for counsel to represent you. Government attorneys represent the United States.
If you elect to obtain counsel to represent your interests, please have your attorney notify this office in writing at: U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20530, Attention: Victim Witness Unit; fax: (202) 514-3708; or email: victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. If you elect not to retain counsel to represent your interests, you do not need to do anything.
Plea Agreements: Please be aware that many criminal cases are resolved by plea agreement between the Department of Justice and the defendant. You should also know that it is not unusual for a defendant to seek to negotiate a plea agreement shortly before trial is scheduled to begin. Plea agreements can be made at any time and as late as the morning of trial, leaving little or no opportunity to provide notice to you of the date and time of the plea hearing. If the court schedules a plea hearing in this case, we will use our best efforts to notify you of available information as soon as practicable. If you want to inform the prosecutor of your views regarding potential plea agreements, or any other aspect of the case, please contact the prosecutor assigned to this case or call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.