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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.

				

			

			
						
					
			

	
		
		

			

				
				
March 21, 2017

				 Neil Pecker and his company Vision Financial Partners, LLC were ordered to pay more than $6.5 million in restitution and civil monetary penalties for fraudulent solicitation and misappropriation in connection with off-exchange binary options. The order was issued by Judge James I. Cohn of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Pecker and Vision Financial Partners were found to have fraudulently solicited approximately $3 million from members of the public to trade off-exchange binary options. CFTC				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 14, 2017

				 Carlos Javier Ramirez and his companies, Gold Chasers, Inc. and Royal Leisure International, Inc. were charged with misappropriation, fraudulent sales solicitation, and issuing false statements in fraud schemes involving gold. According to the CFTC Complaint, between February 2012 through at least January 2016, the defendants allegedly fraudulently offered contracts to sell gold to at least 20 customers. This resulted in defendants allegedly fraudulently obtained at least $4.1 million. CFTC				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 9, 2017

				 John B. Oden and his company Oden Capital Management, LCC were ordered to pay a $100,000 penalty for failing to comply with pool operator requirements. The CFTC Order found that between April and June 2014, Oden acted as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”) without properly registering with the CFTC. Additionally, Oden and his company failed to properly operative their respective pools in accordance with regulatory requirements. CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 6, 2017

				 Forex Capital Markets, LLC, its parent company FXCM Holdings, LLC and its two founding partners Dror (“Drew”) Niv and William Ahdout were ordered to pay a $7 million penalty for defrauding retail forex customers. The CFTC Order found that between 2009 and at least 2014, the companies engaged in false and misleading solicitations of retain forex customers by concealing relationships with important market makers and misrepresenting conflicts of interest. CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Foreign Exchange, 
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 3, 2017

				 The Royal Bank of Scotland plc was ordered to pay an $85 million civil monetary penalty by the CFTC for attempting to manipulate the U.S. Dollar International Swaps and Derivatives Associate Fix (“USD ISDAFIX”). The Royal Bank of Scotland engaged in the conduct in order to benefit certain derivatives positions it held that were priced or valued off of the USD ISDAFIX benchmark. This conduct occurred between January 2007 and March 2012. CFTC
				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
February 1, 2017

				 Joseph Charles DiCrisci and Oakmont Financial Inc. were ordered to pay more than $2.9 million in disgorgement and a civil monetary penalty by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for engaging in illegal, off-exchange precious metals transactions. The court ordered a payment of $735,329 in disgorgement and over $2.2 million in a civil monetary penalty. CFTC
				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 27, 2017

				 Anthony J. Klatch II, Lindsey Heim, and Assurance Capital Management were charged with fraud, misappropriation, and the issuance of false statements in connection with a commodity pool they operated. Klatch is a repeat offender who was previously subject to criminal and civil suits related to similar financial schemes. In a parallel litigation arising from the same facts, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment ordering Klatch to pay $12.9 million. CFTC				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 26, 2017

				 E*TRADE Securities LLC and E*TRADE Clearing LLC were ordered to pay a $280,000 civil monetary penalty by the CFTC for failing to failure to retain required records and failure to diligently supervise. The CFTC found that between October 2009 and January 2014, E*TRADE Securities did not preserve and maintain certain audit trial logs for their customers. CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Financial Institution Fraud, 
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 19, 2017

				 Citigroup Global Markets Inc. was ordered to pay a $25 million civil monetary penalty for spoofing. Spoofing is bidding or offering with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before execution. The unlawful conduct occurred between July 2011 and December 2012. Citigroup Global Markets conducted the spoofing in U.S. Treasury futures markets. CFTC				 					 

						
Tagged in:
													  Fraud in CFTC-Regulated Markets, 
													  Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, 
												
						

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			




	
		
		

			

				
				
January 17, 2017

				 CNCGC Hong Kong Ltd. was ordered to pay a $150,000 penalty for failing to file required CFTC Form 304 Cotton On-Call Reports. The form requires trading companies to report its call cotton purchases and sales when it held or controlled at least one hundred cotton futures positions. CNCGC also filed its Form 304 reports late on two occasions. CFTC				 					 

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

					
	
							
	
		
		
	


 			


											

						

								

									
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