News Centre

CFTC Charges Chairman Of Board Of Interdealer Broker With Supervisory Failures

Date 29/09/2018

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and simultaneously settling charges against Michael Leibowitz, Chairman of the Board of TFS-ICAP LLC and TFS-ICAP Ltd. (TFS-ICAP), for failing to diligently supervise the handling by brokers on the emerging markets desks at TFS-ICAP of foreign exchange options (FX Options) trades.  As found in the Order, it was common practice for TFS-ICAP brokers on the emerging markets desks in both London and New York to engage in practices known as “flying” and “printing” where brokers would communicate to clients fake bids and offers and fake trades intended to create an illusion of greater liquidity and induce clients to trade via TFS-ICAP.  The Order further finds that senior managers at TFS-ICAP had reason to know that brokers were flying and printing. The Order finds that Leibowitz failed to implement any policies or procedures to ensure that brokers and senior managers did not engage in this conduct.   

CFTC Files Three Enforcement Actions Addressing Insider Trading, Forex Fraud, And Fraudulent Solicitation, Impersonation Of A CFTC Investigator, And Forging CFTC Documents, All In Attempt To Steal Bitcoin

Date 29/09/2018

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today filed four complaints against various defendants charging violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations (Regulations), including insider trading; forex fraud; and fraudulent solicitation and impersonating a CFTC official and forging CFTC documents, as set forth below and as more fully described in the related press releases linked below. 

CFTC Charges Two Defendants With Fraudulent Solicitation, Impersonation Of A CFTC Investigator, And Forging CFTC Documents, All In Attempt To Steal Bitcoin

Date 29/09/2018

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today charged two defendants — one using the name Morgan Hunt, purportedly of Arlington, Texas, and doing business as Diamonds Trading Investment House(Hunt), and the other using the name Kim Hecroft, purportedly of Baltimore, Maryland, and doing business as First Options Trading (Hecroft) — with fraudulent solicitation and other fraud.  In a Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the CFTC alleges that Hunt and Hecroft engaged in a fraudulent scheme to solicit Bitcoin from members of the public, through false or misleading representations or omissions, to invest in trading products including leveraged or margined foreign currency contracts (forex), binary options, and diamonds.  The Complaint additionally alleges that the defendants forged account statements, impersonated a CFTC investigator, and even forged documents purportedly authored by the CFTC’s General Counsel and bearing the image of the CFTC’s official Seal as part of their fraudulent scheme.

CFTC Charges Georgia-Based Company And Its Chief Executive With Forex Fraud Involving Thirty Customers

Date 29/09/2018

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Defendants Lucrative Pips Corporation and its founder and chief executive officer Kevin Perry, charging the Defendants with commodity fraud and misappropriation related to an ongoing off-exchange foreign currency (forex) scheme in which they solicited and misappropriated funds totaling at least $400,000 from at least 30 customers.

CFTC Charges Block Trade Broker With Insider Trading - Broker’s Firm Is Additionally Charged With Supervisory And Recordkeeping Failures

Date 29/09/2018

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) today filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against EOX Holdings LLC (EOX), an Introducing Broker (IB), and one of its registered Associated Persons (AP), Andrew Gizienskiof Houston, Texas.  The CFTC’s Complaint charges Defendants with misusing material, nonpublic information in connection with block trades of energy contracts on ICE Futures US, in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC Regulations.  The Complaint also charges EOX with failing to maintain certain required records and failing to diligently supervise its employees.

US Justice Department Hosts Cybersecurity Industry Roundtable

Date 28/09/2018

The Justice Department’s Criminal Division hosted a cybersecurity roundtable discussion yesterday on the challenges in handling data breach investigations.  Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Criminal Division delivered opening remarks and served as moderator for the event.  Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers of the Department’s National Security Division and officials from the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, the White House’s National Security Council and U.S. Department of Homeland Security also delivered remarks at the event.  The audience included many of the nation’s leading private-sector practitioners in the field of data breach response and representatives from premier cybersecurity and incident response firms in the country.

CFTC Commitments Of Traders Reports Update

Date 28/09/2018

The current reports for the week of September 28, 2018 are now available.

See previous weeks in Historical Commitments of Traders Reports.

S&P Dow Jones Indices Europe Dashboard

Date 28/09/2018

• The S&P Europe 350® closed September with a small gain; strong contributions from the Energy and Materials sectors helped. 
• Around half of the S&P Europe 350’s represented countries contributed positively to returns this month.  The U.K., France, and Sweden added the most. 
• Italian bonds had a volatile month as the market awaited this week’s budget and fiscal targets produced by the populist coalition government.  

Brokerage Firm To Exit Penny Stock Deposit Business And Pay Penalty For Repeatedly Failing To Report Suspicious Trading

Date 28/09/2018

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against clearing firm COR Clearing LLC for failing to report suspicious sales of penny stock shares totaling millions of dollars.  As part of the settlement, COR has agreed to exit a key penny stock clearing business by significantly limiting the sale of penny stocks deposited at COR. 

New York Attorney General Underwood Announces $10 Million Settlement With Credit Suisse Over Fraudulent Electronic Trading Practices - Credit Suisse Secretly Treated Retail Orders By Everyday Investors Differently, Depending On Whether Execution Quality Would Be Reported - Settlement Marks Latest Case In AG’s Electronic And High-Frequency Trading Initiative – As A Result Of AG Investigations, Four Firms Have Agreed To Pay $130.5 Million In Penalties

Date 28/09/2018

Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today announced that Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“Credit Suisse”) has agreed to pay $10 million to settle an investigation into fraudulent practices in connection with Credit Suisse’s Retail Execution Services (“RES”) business. Credit Suisse’s RES division was a wholesale market-making business that executed retail equity orders of everyday investors that Credit Suisse received from retail broker-dealers like Edward Jones, Raymond James, and others.