Litigation Releases (John Fernandez, Avail Progression, LLC, and Elite Generators, LLC)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26539 / April 24, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. John Fernandez, et al., No. 4:22-cv-04365 (S.D. Tex. filed Dec. 16, 2022)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment as to Defendants Charged in Forex Offering Fraud

On April 14, 2026, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered a final judgment as to John Fernandez and two companies he controlled, Avail Progression, LLC and Elite Generators, LLC, in connection with the SEC's civil enforcement action against them.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed on December 16, 2022, Fernandez promised to pay investors guaranteed returns by trading their funds in the forex markets. However, the complaint alleges that instead of trading investors' money as promised, Fernandez used the majority of the investor funds to make Ponzi payments and for his own personal expenses.

The final judgment, which follows the Court entering bifurcated judgments as to the defendants on April 19, 2023 and granting the SEC's motion for monetary relief on March 30, 2026, permanently enjoins Fernandez, Avail Progression, and Elite Generators from violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; permanently enjoins Fernandez from participating in the issuance, offer, purchase or sale of any security except for purchases or sales for his own personal accounts; and prohibits Fernandez from acting as an officer or director of a public company. In addition, the final judgment orders the defendants to pay disgorgement in the amount of $5,002,383.00 and prejudgment interest in the amount of $1,626,707.93, on a joint and several basis, and orders Fernandez to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $472,902.00.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Jillian Harris and Carol Hahn of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office. The SEC's litigation was led by Tyson M. Lies and Matthew J. Gulde and supervised by Keefe Bernstein.