CFTC Enforcement

April 9, 2018

The CFTC issued an Order filing and settling charges against Anuj C. Singhal, a Dallas, Texas resident and registered floor broker, for engaging in the disruptive trading practice of “spoofing” (bidding or offering with the intent to cancel bids or offers before execution) through manual trading in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) wheat futures market between at least March and June 2016 (the Relevant Period). The CFTC Order finds that Singhal frequently engaged in this spoofing activity by first entering larger limit orders on one side of the CME wheat futures market, and at times, several larger orders in succession. The Order finds that Singhal then entered a smaller, aggressive order (a market order) on the opposite side of the market, which was usually filled instantaneously or within a fraction of a second. In most instances, the Order finds, after the smaller order was entered and executed Singhal continued to modify his larger orders further away from the market, each modification generally within seconds of the last, but in all such instances those larger orders were cancelled without any part of the order being filled. The Order finds that Singhal repeated this trading pattern numerous times during the Relevant Period. CFTC

March 20, 2018

The CFTC announced that Judge Brian J. Davis of the Middle District of Florida has ordered Defendants Maverick International, Inc. (Maverick), and its principals Edward Rubin and Wesley Allen Brown to pay $8,605,274.92 in combined restitution and civil monetary penalties for commodity futures fraud, commodity pool fraud, and related violations of federal commodity laws. Maverick purportedly maintains offices in Wilmington, Delaware and Rubin resides in Winnabow, North Carolina. Brown was a resident of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and is currently incarcerated in Florida, serving a seven and one-half year sentence for securities fraud, embezzlement, and other crimes related to the conduct at issue in the CFTC’s action. CFTC

March 6, 2018

The CFTC announced that the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a Preliminary Injunction Order against Defendants Patrick K. McDonnell and CabbageTech, Corp. d/b/a Coin Drop Markets (CDM). The Court’s decision stems from the CFTC’s January 18, 2018 Complaint charging Defendants with fraud and misappropriation in connection with purchases and trading of the virtual currencies Bitcoin and Litecoin (see CFTC Press Release & Complaint 7675-18). CFTC

March 5, 2018

The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging Lon Olen Friedrichsen of Alton, Iowa, with fraud and failing to register with the CFTC as a Commodity Trading Advisor, as required. Friedrichsen, as alleged, also solicited clients under the names of Lon Kummer and Lon Richardson, but omitted that these were false names. The CFTC’s Complaint alleges that from at least December 16, 2014 through May 24, 2017, Friedrichsen fraudulently solicited clients in New York, New York and throughout the United States by making false statements in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Friedrichsen solicited clients for his fraudulent scheme via Craigslist ads, telephone, and e-mail. In these solicitations, the CFTC alleges that Friedrichsen made numerous materially false and misleading statements concerning his trading successes, omitted material facts, guaranteed future trading profits, and prepared false trading statements. CFTC

February 12, 2018

The CFTC issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against AMP Global Clearing LLC (AMP), a registered Futures Commission Merchant since 2010, for its failure between June 21, 2016 and April 17, 2017 to supervise diligently the implementation of critical provisions in AMP’s information systems security program (ISSP). As a result of this failure, a significant amount of AMP’s customers’ records and information were left unprotected for nearly ten months. In April 2017, as a result of this failure, a third party unaffiliated with AMP (Third Party) accessed AMP’s information technology network and copied approximately 97,000 files, which included customers’ records and information, including personally identifiable information. The Third Party thereafter contacted federal authorities about securing the copied information, and subsequently informed AMP that the copied information had been secured and was no longer in the Third Party’s possession. After becoming aware of the vulnerability and unauthorized access, AMP cooperated with the CFTC and worked diligently to remediate the issue. CFTC

February 1, 2018

The CFTC issued an Order filing and settling charges against Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (DBSI) for attempted manipulation of the ISDAFIX benchmark and requiring DBSI to pay a $70 million civil monetary penalty. The CFTC Order finds that over a five-year period, beginning in at least January 2007 and continuing through May 2012 (the Relevant Period), DBSI made false reports and through the acts of multiple traders attempted to manipulate the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Association Fix (USD ISDAFIX), a leading global benchmark referenced in a range of interest rate products, to benefit its derivatives positions, including positions involving cash-settled options on interest rate swaps. CFTC

January 29, 2018

The CFTC announced, in conjunction with the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Investigative Division, criminal and civil enforcement actions against three banks and six individuals involved in commodities fraud and spoofing schemes. The CFTC today issued an Order filing and settling charges against Deutsche Bank AG (DB AG) and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (DBSI) (collectively, DB), requiring DB to pay a $30 million civil monetary penalty and to undertake remedial relief. The Order finds that from at least February 2008 and continuing through at least September 2014, DB AG, by and through certain precious metals traders (Traders), engaged in a scheme to manipulate the price of precious metals futures contracts by utilizing a variety of manual spoofing techniques with respect to precious metals futures contracts traded on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX), and by trading in a manner to trigger customer stop-loss orders. CFTC

January 29, 2018

The CFTC issued an Order filing and settling charges against UBS AG (UBS), requiring UBS to pay a $15 million civil monetary penalty and to undertake remedial relief. The Order finds that from January 2008 through at least December 2013, UBS, by and through the acts of certain precious metals traders on the spot desk (Traders), attempted to manipulate the price of precious metals futures contracts by utilizing a variety of manual spoofing techniques with respect to precious metals futures contracts traded on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX), including gold and silver, and by trading in a manner to trigger customer stop-loss orders. CFTC

January 29, 2018

The CFTC issued an Order filing and settling charges against HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. (HSBC) for engaging in numerous acts of spoofing with respect to certain futures products in gold and other precious metals traded on the Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX). The Order finds that HSBC engaged in this activity through one of its traders based in HSBC’s New York office. The Order requires HSBC to pay a civil monetary penalty of $1.6 million, to cease and desist from violating the Commodity Exchange Act’s prohibition against spoofing, and to take specified steps to implement and strengthen their training, systems, and controls to detect and deter spoofing by HSBC personnel in the futures markets. In accepting HSBC’s offer of settlement, the CFTC recognizes the bank’s cooperation during the Division of Enforcement’s investigation of this matter. CFTC

January 29, 2018

The CFTC today announced the filing of a federal court enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against Krishna Mohan of New York City, New York, charging him with spoofing (bidding or offering with the intent to cancel before execution) and engaging in a manipulative and deceptive scheme in the E-mini Dow ($5) futures contract market on the Chicago Board of Trade and the E-mini NASDAQ 100 futures contract market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. CFTC