Brian Hunter, a former energy trader, was penalized $750,000 and permanently banned from certain trading activities after admitting to attempting to manipulate natural gas futures contracts, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on September 15, 2014.
The settlement, entered by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and presided over by Honorable Ronnie Abrams, concludes the CFTC’s case against Hunter, who resided in Calgary, Alberta. The charges stemmed from actions taken on February 24 and April 26, 2006, while Hunter was employed by Amaranth Advisors.
The CFTC originally filed a complaint against Amaranth Advisors and Hunter in July 2007, alleging a scheme to manipulate the price of natural gas futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Amaranth previously settled its portion of the case in 2009, agreeing to pay a $7.5 million penalty.
With the penalty against Hunter, the total monetary penalties in the case against all defendants reaches $8.25 million. Hunter is now permanently prohibited from trading in the settlement period for the last day of trading in all CFTC-regulated products. He is also permanently banned from trading all CFTC-regulated natural gas products during the daily closing period, and from registering with the CFTC or claiming exemption from registration.
The CFTC acknowledged the assistance of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the investigation. The case was led by a team of CFTC staff members including Elizabeth C. Brennan, Patryk Chudy, Sheila Marhamati, Michael C. McLaughlin, David Oakland, R. Stephen Painter, Jr., W. Derek Shakabpa, Chad Silverman, Lara Turcik, David W. MacGregor, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal Sultan.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Letitia James, Price Manipulation, New York 2023 · New York
- Vivek Ramaswamy Rejects VP Offer, Focusing on Presidential Ambition… · New York
- Chris Sununu Declares War on Trump’s Grip, Undisclosed, 2024 · New Hampshire
- Wall Street Firms, Financial Malfeasance, New York NY, 2023 · New York
- Kenneth Thom Admits $2M Investment Scam, Manhattan NY, 2023 · New York
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News