CFTC Escalates Enforcement Actions Against Commodity Pool Fraud

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced yesterday that Judge G. Ross Anderson of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina entered an emergency Order freezing and preserving the remaining pool of participant assets under the control of Robert Stanley Harrison, of...

CFTC Seeks to Revoke Registration of Crabapple Capital for $1m Fraud

The U.S. Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) announced yesterday that it intends to revoke Associated Persons ( AP), Commodity Pool Operator (CPO) and Commodity Trading Advisor CTA) registrations for Crabapple Capital and its principal, Robert A. Christy. The CFTC’s intent to revoke the...

CFTC Obtains $340,000 Penalty Against Trans Global for Commodity Fraud

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that a Federal Court in Nevada has ordered Trans Global Investments, LLC to pay $340,000 to settle commodity pool fraud charges. The defendants, including Charles Leroy Timberlake, Trans Global’s President, are now permanently barred from...

CFTC Enforcement Watch for 2013: Commodity Pool Scams, Rate-Rigging…

If the final quarter of 2012 is any indication, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will continue to pursue commodity pool scams, failed registration, and rate-rigging enforcement in 2013. CFTC Enforcement for 2013 To close the year, the CFTC issued enforcement actions against a number of...

CFTC Issues No-Action Relief for Banks, Brokers, Advisors…

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a range of no-action letters today. The letters provide temporary relief for certain introducing brokers (IBs) commodity trading advisors, and banks owned by non-U.S. swaps dealers. CFTC No-Action for IBs and CTAs From the CFTC’s statement: The Division...

CFTC, Libor Usher in New Era of Financial Penalties

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), in conjunction with the fallout from the Libor scandal, has recently upped the ante for financial penalties. The new fervor on the part of regulators to exact financial penalties is embellished by today’s announcement that UBS AG, accused of...

CFTC Charges Arista LLC with $9.5 Million Commodity Pool Fraud

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed an enforcement action against Arista LLC, a registered commodity pool operator (CPO) based in California. The enforcement action alleges that Arista LLC principals Abdul Sultan Waliji and Reniero Francisco defrauded investors, made false...

CFTC Cracks Down on Commodity Pool Ponzi Schemes

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a statement yesterday announcing that Judge Edward J. Lodge of the U.S. District Court of Idaho entered a permanent injunction requiring Trigon Group, Inc, to return $20.6 million in ill-gotten gains. Trigon is accused of operating a commodity pool...

CFTC Enforcement Blitz: Eagle, Intrade, Cantor, Harbor Light

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) seems to be increasing the rate of its enforcement of financial regulation. The agency issued four new enforcement actions in the last week, against Eagle Market Makers, Cantor Fitzgerald, Harbor Light, and most recently, Intrade. CFTC Issues Enforcement...

CPO/CTA Charged With Fraudulent Allocation Scheme

The CFTC has filed a federal civil enforcement action against Donald A. Newell and his company Quiditty, LLC (a registered CPO and CTA), charging them with fraudulently allocating commodity futures and options trades to a proprietary account at the expense of customer accounts managed by the firm. According...