Enforcement Actions

The CFTC Division of Enforcement investigates and prosecutes alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations. The CFTC takes enforcement actions against individuals and firms registered with the Commission, those who are engaged in commodity futures and option trading on designated domestic exchanges, and those who improperly market futures and options contracts.

View Dispositions
View Opinions and Adjudicatory Orders

Enforcement Advisory: Updated Advisory on Self Reporting and Full Cooperation

Enforcement Advisory: Cooperation Factors in Enforcement Division Sanction Recommendations for Individuals

Enforcement Advisory: Cooperation Factors in Enforcement Division Sanction Recommendations for Companies

Enforcement Advisory: Advisory on Self Reporting and Cooperation for CEA Violations Involving Foreign Corrupt Practices

See CFTC Press Release 7518-17 (January 19, 2017) and
Speech of James McDonald, Director of the Division of Enforcement Commodity Futures Trading Commission Regarding Perspectives on Enforcement: Self-Reporting and Cooperation at the CFTC (September 25, 2017)

Date ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
FLORIDA FEDERAL COURT ENJOINS RECIDIVIST IN ACTION ALLEGING HE MISAPPROPRIATED AT LEAST $1 MILLION IN CUSTOMER FUNDS AND VIOLATED A PRIOR FEDERAL COURT ORDER; Consent Order issued by United States District Court in Florida Enjoins Defendants Thomas D. Chilcott and Leona Westbrook from, among other things, Committing Fraud and also Permanently Bars Defendants from Commodity Trading
GRENADIAN COMPANY, A CANADIAN CITIZEN, AND TWO MINNESOTA RESIDENTS CHARGED WITH COMMODITY POOL FRAUD; CFTC Alleges that Sovereign Resource Management, Inc., Ken Mitra, Virgil E. Smith, and Anthony J. Heppner Fraudulently Solicited Individuals to Trade Foreign Currency Futures Contracts and Misappropriated Over $600,000 of Investors' Funds
CFTC SUSPENDS TWO FLOOR BROKERS FOR UNLAWFULLY TRADING COFFEE FUTURES CONTRACTS; In Settlement, Joseph Defrancesco Found to Have Engaged in Fraud, Bucketing of Customer Orders, and Reporting Non-Bona Fide Prices, and Marc Greenstein Found to Have Engaged in Noncompetitive Trading, Wash Sales, and Accommodation Trades
NEW YORK FOREIGN CURRENCY FIRMS CHARGED WITH FRAUDULENTLY SOLICITING OVER $15 MILLION FROM AS MANY AS 400 CUSTOMERS NATIONWIDE TO INVEST IN ILLEGAL FOREIGN CURRENCY (FOREX) FUTURES CONTRACTS; CFTC Obtains Federal Court Order Freezing Assets of Defendants International Financial Services (New York), Inc., International Financial Services (New York), LLC, John Walker Robinson, and Chan Kow Lai
FLORIDA DEFENDANTS SETTLE CFTC COMPLAINT ALLEGING FOREIGN CURRENCY (FOREX) OPTIONS FRAUD; International Currency Strategies, Inc., Strategic Trading Group, Inc., Fairfield Currency Group, Inc., and Their Officers - Daniel Phillips and Valentin Fernandez - Are Permanently Barred From Trading Commodity Futures and Options
COFFEE COMMODITY TRADERS BRUCE MILLER AND DEIRDRE ANDERSON CHARGED WITH FRAUDULENT TRADE ALLOCATION SCHEME; George Lamborn and Richard Lani Sr. Alleged To Have Failed to Diligently Supervise Miller and Anderson’s Trading; CSCE Floor Brokers, Daniel Lipton and Kenneth Lawson, Charged With Failing to Obtain Required Customer Account Identification
FLORIDA WOMAN AND COMPANY SETTLE CFTC CHARGES ALLEGING THEY FRAUDULENTLY MARKETED COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEMS; CFTC Imposed Trading Bans and Penalties on Bernadette Flavell and Systems of Success – Window to Profit (SOS)
SIX COFFEE, SUGAR & COCOA EXCHANGE FLOOR BROKERS CHARGED BY CFTC WITH UNLAWFULLY TRADING COFFEE FUTURES
CALIFORNIA COMMODITY TRADER CHARGED WITH UNAUTHORIZED TRADING, UNLAWFULLY OPERATING A COMMODITY POOL AND ILLEGALLY MANAGING TRADING ACCOUNTS; CFTC Files Complaint Against Donald Steven Smith and His Company, Fibit.com, in Federal District Court
FLORIDA MAN SETTLES CHARGES ALLEGING HE FRAUDULENTLY MARKETED COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEMS; CFTC Bars Kevin Kates From Trading