Chicago, IL – December 4, 2012 – Deepak Singhal has been ordered to pay $258,868.75 and is barred from commodity trading for five years after being found guilty of spoofing commodity options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) secured the judgment against Singhal in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
According to court documents, Singhal engaged in a pattern of unlawful, non-competitive trades during periods of low market volume. He allegedly placed virtually simultaneous buy and sell orders in his own account and the account of Meera Singhal, effectively creating fictitious sales. The court found that these transactions originated from the same IP address located in Bangalore, India.
The scheme resulted in the transfer of $118,868.75 from Deepak Singhal’s account to Meera Singhal’s account. The court determined that Meera Singhal aided and abetted the fraudulent activity by allowing Singhal unauthorized access to trade on her behalf.
Judge Amy J. St. Eve issued a consent order requiring Deepak Singhal to pay $118,868.75 in disgorgement – funds illegally obtained – and a $140,000 civil monetary penalty. In addition to the trading ban for Deepak Singhal, Meera Singhal is prohibited from engaging in any commodity-related activity for two years.
The CFTC complaint, initially filed on January 9, 2012, alleged that Singhal’s actions constituted manipulation and disruption of the commodity markets. The investigation was led by CFTC staff members Dmitriy Vilenskiy, Sophia Siddiqui, Elizabeth Pendleton, Elizabeth Padgett, A. Daniel Ullman II, Timothy J. Mulreany, Paul Hayeck, and Joan Manley.
This case highlights the CFTC’s ongoing efforts to combat manipulative trading practices and protect the integrity of U.S. commodity markets.
Source: CFTC.gov
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