DES MOINES – The Iowa Insurance Division announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has entered a final judgment imposing nearly $25.6 million in restitution against Safeguard Metals LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Ikahn, for operating a fraudulent scheme targeting older and retirement-aged individuals. Safeguard Metals LLC and Ikahn were also ordered to pay nearly $25.6 million in civil penalties.
“This judgment can help provide meaningful restitution to investors harmed by this fraudulent scheme and rightfully goes further to punish the fraudsters through civil penalties after investors receive their restitution,” said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen. “We will continue to protect Iowa investors and I want to thank the CFTC and the other state regulators for their dedication and hard work.”
The judgment stems from a fraudulent scheme conducted by Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Ikahn from October 2017 through at least July 2021. On October 25, 2023, 30 state regulators and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a settlement with the defendants through a consent order that found the defendants liable for employing a nationwide scheme. The consent order also enjoined the defendants from future violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, as well as future violations of state laws and regulations set forth in the complaint.
According to the court’s findings, the defendants solicited approximately $68 million, the majority of which was retirement savings, from at least 450 persons for the purpose of purchasing precious metals, primarily consisting of silver coins. The court found that defendants systematically and widely disseminated false and misleading information and failed to communicate material facts to customers and fraudulently overcharged Safeguard Metals’ customers for the precious metals they sold.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a parallel action against the same defendants in February 2022. The court entered partial judgments by consent in 2023 and in May 2025 ordered Safeguard and Ikahn to pay a nearly $25.6 million in disgorgement, a nearly $25.6 million civil monetary penalty, and prejudgment interest. Any amounts paid in the SEC matter will be offset against any amounts paid in the judgment announced today and vice versa.
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