CHICAGO, IL – August 24, 2022 – Eric Schwartz of Chicago, Illinois, has been charged with spoofing commodity futures contracts, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today.
The CFTC issued an order simultaneously filing and settling charges against Schwartz for multiple instances of spoofing between April 2020 and July 2020. Spoofing, as defined by the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), involves bidding or offering a contract with the intent to cancel the bid or offer before it can be executed.
According to the CFTC, Schwartz engaged in this manipulative practice with Natural Gas (NG) and Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending Gasoline (RBOB) futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The order details that Schwartz placed bids and offers he never intended to fulfill, aiming to create a false impression of market activity.
As a result of the charges, Schwartz is required to pay a $100,000 civil monetary penalty. He also faces a four-month suspension from trading on any CFTC-designated exchange, as well as all other CFTC-registered entities and in all commodity interests. The order mandates that Schwartz cease and desist from any further violations of the CEA’s spoofing prohibition.
The CFTC’s investigation was conducted in coordination with a parallel inquiry by the CME Group, which previously imposed disciplinary actions against Schwartz. The CFTC took the CME Group’s prior penalties into consideration when determining its own civil monetary penalty.
“The CFTC thanks the CME Group for its assistance in this matter,” the agency stated in its release.
Amanda Burks, Elizabeth May, Aimée Latimer-Zayets, Erica Bodin, and Rick Glaser of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement were responsible for the investigation and prosecution of this case.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Eric Watson, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Illinois 2015 · Illinois
- Dominick Palladinetti, Drug Smuggling, Illinois 2023 · Illinois
- Eric Holub, Tax Withholding Fraud, Iowa 2008 · Iowa
- Jevon M. Jenkins, Aiding and Abetting Kidnapping, Illinois 2012 · Pennsylvania
- Steven L. Carson, Firearm Possession, Illinois 2012 · Illinois
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News