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CFTC Enforcement Actions

					
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the United States agency with primary responsibility for enforcing the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and regulating commodity futures and related markets. Whistleblowers with knowledge of violations of laws and regulations enforced by the CFTC can submit a claim under the CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, and may be eligible to receive a monetary reward and protection against retaliation by employers.


Below are summaries of recent CFTC settlements or successful enforcement actions. If you believe you have information about fraud which could give rise to a CFTC enforcement action and claim under the CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
January 29, 2018

				 The CFTC announced the filing of a federal court enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Defendant Jiongsheng Zhao, of Australia, charging him with spoofing and engaging in a manipulative and deceptive scheme in the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 29, 2018

				 The CFTC announced the filing of a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against James Vorley, a U.K. resident, and Cedric Chanu, a United Arab Emirates resident, charging them with spoofing and engaging in a manipulative and deceptive scheme in the precious metals futures markets. CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 29, 2018

				 The CFTC announced the filing of a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Andre Flotron, of Switzerland, charging him with engaging in a manipulative and deceptive scheme and spoofing in the precious metals futures markets on a registered entity. CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 24, 2018

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the filing of a federal court enforcement action under seal on January 16, 2018, charging commodity fraud and misappropriation related to the ongoing solicitation of customers for a virtual currency known as My Big Coin (MBC). The CFTC Complaint charges Defendants Randall Crater of East Hampton, New York,Mark Gillespie of Hartland, Michigan, and My Big Coin Pay, Inc., a corporation based in Las Vegas, Nevada, with misappropriating over $6 million from customers by, among other things, transferring customer funds into personal bank accounts, and using those funds for personal expenses and the purchase of luxury goods. CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 19, 2018

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on January 18, 2018, filed a federal civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Defendants Patrick K. McDonnell, of Staten Island, New York, and CabbageTech, Corp. d/b/a Coin Drop Markets (CDM), a New York corporation, charging them with fraud and misappropriation in connection with purchases and trading of Bitcoin and Litecoin. CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 19, 2018

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on January 18, 2018 filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Defendants Dillon Michael Dean of Longmont, Colorado, and his company The Entrepreneurs Headquarters Limited, a UK-registered company. The CFTC Complaint charges the Defendants with engaging in a fraudulent scheme to solicit Bitcoin from members of the public, misrepresenting that customers’ funds would be pooled and invested in products including binary options, making Ponzi-style payments to commodity pool participants from other participants’ funds, misappropriating pool participants’ funds, and failing to register with the CFTC as a Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and Associated Person of a CPO, as required. CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 12, 2018

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the filing of a civil enforcement action on January 12, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, charging Defendants Richard D. Carter of Mundelein, Illinois, Mark R. Slobodnik of Libertyville, Illinois, and their company Blue Guru Trading, LLC (Blue Guru), a Delaware limited liability company, with fraudulent solicitation, issuing false statements, and misappropriation in connection with investments in their Blue Guru commodity pool. The CFTC Complaint also charges the Defendants with registration violations. CFTC				 			
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
December 20, 2017

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained three related Consent Orders of Permanent Injunction against Defendants Mintco LLC of Delray Beach, Florida, and its owners Stuart Rubinof Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Richard Q. Zimmerman of Wellington Florida, finding that all Defendants engaged in illegal off-exchange precious metals transactions and further that Rubin and Mintco engaged in fraud with respect to these same precious metals transactions. CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
													  Regulatory Violations, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
December 12, 2017

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that Judge Ronnie Abrams of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a Consent Order against Defendants Kevin Michael Symons of Foothill Ranch, California, and his California company, FTS Financial, Inc. (FTS), and a Consent Order against Jerry Austin Simmons of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Orders find that the Defendants fraudulently promoted Simmons’ "Real Time Trade Room" (the Room), an online futures "trading" forum marketed by the Defendants as a way to observe Simmons as he purported to trade futures contracts “live” and that Simmons solicited clients to open managed futures trading accounts without being registered as required with the CFTC as an Associated Person (AP) of a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
													  Regulatory Violations, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
November 28, 2017

				 The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a Consent Order against Defendants Joseph Dufresne (a/k/a/ Joseph James) and Megan Renkow (a/k/a Megan James), both of Palos Verdes Estates, California, and their companies, United Business Servicing, LLC and United Business Servicing, Inc. (collectively, United Business), doing business as SchoolofTrade.com (SoT), who were charged with fraud and other violations in connection with the offer and sale of futures trading strategies and systems. The Consent Order, entered by Judge John A. Kronstadt, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California, on November 22, 2017, requires Dufresne, Renkow, and United Business jointly and severally, to pay restitution to defrauded investors totaling $3,941,157 and a $1 million civil monetary penalty. CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
													  Misrepresentations, 
													  Regulatory Violations, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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