“[W]e are in a very bad spot right now. I took an ELE—Extinction Level Event . . . . We’ve lost 97% of our portfolio because of adding to losing trades . . . .”

💡 Miller admitted in writing that he had lost almost all investor funds through reckless trading decisions, yet continued trading what little remained.

“Profits fell for the fund last month over 90% due to increased margins. Once again just like March we are seeing things I have never seen in the market. Regardless I am going to give it to you straight. March was down 12% I was able to recoup 8% in April so we are still down 4% as of fast Friday.”

💡 Miller claimed only a 4% loss when his trading had actually lost over $128,000 in March (nearly 50% of the account) and $39,000 in April (37%).

“Dendinger also promised that each participant would earn 6% monthly returns on his or her investment for a period of fourteen months.”

💡 These unrealistic guaranteed returns were used to lure investors into a scheme that had no reasonable prospect of delivering such profits.

“Our team has been trading for over 5 years. We are looking for roughly 150 traders form [sic] all over the world to form our futures trading room . . . . Trading Strategy Learn how to take the exact trades our team does and profit consistently!”

💡 Flip 2 Futures openly solicited the public through its website despite having no registration and no legitimate track record of consistent profits.

“Miller paid to post at least one advertisement on Craigslist in the ‘Financial Services’ category for the Minneapolis, MN, area in which he represented that he owned and operated Flip 2 Futures and was ‘looking for 2 more investors’ to contribute funds for trading.”

💡 Miller actively sought investors through classified ads while operating without required federal registration or oversight.

“With respect to Miller’s trading in Dorman Trading account **402, from May 2018 through July 2019—before accepting funds from PDM—Miller traded in only nine out of fifteen months, executing trades in crude oil and E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts. During this time, Miller’s trading earned net profits in only three months and sustained net losses in the remaining six months.”

💡 Miller concealed his poor trading history showing more losing months than profitable ones when soliciting investors with false claims of success.

“Once deposited into Flip 2 Futures’ Wells Fargo Bank account **8004, Miller and Flip 2 Futures transferred all of the funds received from PDM in 2019 and 2020 to Wells Fargo Bank account **0711, which was held in the names of Miller and his wife and contained personal funds that Miller and his wife used to pay personal living expenses.”

💡 Investor funds intended for trading were instead commingled with personal money and used to pay Miller’s household bills.

“Flip 2 Futures and Miller engaged in the acts and practices described above knowingly, willfully, or with reckless disregard for the truth.”

💡 The court explicitly found the fraud was intentional or recklessly indifferent to harming investors, not mere negligence.

“Miller and Dendinger decided to continue trading the remaining funds in an effort to recoup the losses. However, from June 2020 through November 2020, Miller’s trading suffered overall losses, depleting the remaining funds from PDM.”

💡 Even after admitting 97% losses, Miller kept trading with investors’ remaining money rather than returning it, losing everything.

“From August 2019 through November 2020, Miller’s trading in Dorman Trading account **402 lost a total of $329,666.38.”

💡 This quantifies the direct trading losses separate from misappropriated funds, showing Miller destroyed nearly $330,000 through failed trades.

“Neither Flip 2 Futures nor Miller delivered to PDM a Disclosure Document as required by 17 C.F.R. § 4.31. … Neither PDM nor Dendinger delivered to the 2019 pool participants a Disclosure Document as described in 17 C.F.R. §§ 4.21, 4.24.”

💡 Required disclosure documents inform investors of risks and operator backgrounds; withholding them denied investors critical information needed to make informed decisions.

“On June 25, 2021, Miller sent an email to Commission staff in response to the subpoena. The only documents accompanying the response were a copy of the Investment Agreement with PDM and a copy of a form 1099B from Dorman Trading for the year 2020.”

💡 Miller’s refusal to produce required records when legally compelled shows contempt for regulatory oversight and an attempt to conceal evidence.

“PDM collected the funds in a bank account held in its name at US Bank (account **4501), the same account in which PDM held its own business funds and conducted its regular business financial transactions, including compensation payments to Dendinger and his partner.”

💡 Mixing investor money with business and personal funds violates basic fiduciary duty and makes misappropriation much easier.

“Although Flip 2 Futures is currently administratively terminated as an LLC in Minnesota, it can return to active status if Miller files renewal paperwork and pays a fee. … More important is that Miller not shown a willingness to abide by federal statutes and regulations, nor has he participated in this litigation or given assurances that he will no longer violate federal law.”

💡 The court found Miller poses ongoing danger to the public because he has shown no remorse or compliance, justifying permanent trading bans.

“Defendants wrongfully obtained $400,000 from the Pool Participants. Of those funds, $27,000 was returned, and Dendinger agreed with one pool participant to deposit $9,000 into a personal trading account held in Dendinger’s name. Accordingly, restitution is warranted in the amount of $364,000.”

💡 This shows the court’s math: $400,000 solicited minus $27,000 returned minus $9,000 in separate account equals $364,000 owed to victims.