Jupiter, FL – Christopher Smithers, a resident of Jupiter, Florida, has been slapped with a hefty penalty and trading ban following a default judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on July 31, 2013. The judgment, stemming from a complaint filed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in October 2012, finds Smithers liable for multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
The court ordered Smithers to pay a $590,940 civil monetary penalty and $196,980 in restitution. In addition to the financial penalties, Smithers is permanently banned from trading commodity futures and registering with the CFTC. The order also permanently prohibits any further violations of the CEA and related regulations.
According to the court findings, between October 2008 and March 2009, Smithers misled customers about the profitability of his commodity futures trading, concealing losses totaling $220,000. Furthermore, from June 22, 2011, through November 2011, Smithers falsely identified himself to Futures Commission Merchants to circumvent prior court orders that prohibited him from trading commodity futures contracts.
The CFTC’s investigation revealed that in 2011, Smithers misappropriated $162,980 in customer funds intended for the purchase of gold bullion. He also fraudulently solicited funds from a customer to trade commodity futures. This isn’t Smithers’ first run-in with the law; the court noted that his actions violated two previous permanent injunctions issued by the Southern District of Florida in cases CFTC v. Matrix Trading Group., Inc and CFTC v. Christopher Smithers, dating back to 2002 and 2006, respectively.
The case was led by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff including Harry E. Wedewer, Dmitriy Vilenskiy, Danielle E. Karst, John Einstman, Paul G. Hayeck, and Joan M. Manley.
Source: CFTC.gov
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