Monsey, New York resident Igor Chernomzav and his Chicago-based firm, Hard Eight Futures, LLC, have been slapped with hefty penalties by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for engaging in a manipulative trading scheme known as spoofing. The CFTC announced the settlement on Monday, finding that Chernomzav, a founder and partner of Hard Eight, intentionally placed and canceled orders to manipulate the market.
According to the CFTC, between March 2014 and March 2015, Chernomzav repeatedly submitted bids and offers for E-mini futures contracts on the CME’s Globex platform with no intention of actually executing the trades. These orders, representing a significant portion of the best bid or offer, were designed to create a false impression of market interest.
“This case is about maintaining fair markets,” stated CFTC Director of Enforcement James McDonald. “Market integrity… starts with making sure bids and offers represent real buying and selling interest, not fake order flow intended to manipulate other market participants.”
The CFTC found that Chernomzav used this deceptive tactic to influence other traders, pushing them to transact at prices and quantities that benefited his own positions. He engaged in this conduct on over a thousand separate occasions during the stated period.
As part of the settlement, Hard Eight Futures will pay a civil monetary penalty of $1.75 million, while Chernomzav will pay $750,000. Additionally, Chernomzav is barred from trading in any CFTC-regulated market for nine months. The CME Group also conducted a parallel investigation and announced its own disciplinary actions against both Hard Eight and Chernomzav.
The total penalties levied against the firm and its trader amount to $2.5 million, signaling the CFTC’s commitment to prosecuting manipulative trading practices and preserving market integrity. The case was led by CFTC staff members Ashley J. Burden, Joy McCormack, Matthew Edelstein, David Terrell, and Scott Williamson.
Source: CFTC.gov
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