Washington, D.C. – Dominick Anthony Cognata, a former COMEX floor broker, has been ordered to pay $140,000 in penalties and has had his registration revoked by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for failing to comply with a CFTC subpoena and violating recordkeeping requirements. The penalties and revocation were finalized on November 26, 2014, following rulings by Chief Administrative Law Judge Walter J. Brudzinski.
The CFTC initially filed charges against Cognata in September 2013, alleging he failed to produce requested records related to his brokerage activities despite a valid subpoena. The complaint cited violations of Section 4g of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and related CFTC regulations. A separate notice sought the revocation of Cognata’s floor broker registration, citing prior disciplinary actions and his failure to maintain required records.
Cognata did not respond to the CFTC’s complaint or notice, leading to a default judgment. Judge Brudzinski found that Cognata’s failure to comply with the subpoena violated established recordkeeping requirements. The judge specifically dismissed any claim of Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, stating the requested documents – trading cards and order tickets – were essential to a valid regulatory scheme.
In addition to the $140,000 civil monetary penalty, Cognata’s floor broker registration has been permanently revoked, based on a pattern of conduct demonstrating his inability to adhere to trading regulations. The CFTC cited two prior disciplinary actions, alongside the subpoena failure, as evidence of this pattern.
The case was handled by CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members K. Brent Tomer, R. Stephen Painter, Jr., Patrick Daly, Trevor Kokal, Elizabeth Brennan, Steven I. Ringer, Lenel Hickson, and Manal Sultan.
Source: CFTC.gov
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