Chicago, IL – Roman Banoczay Jr. of Bratislava, Slovakia, along with his father, Roman Banoczay Sr., and their company, BAZUR Spol. S.R.O., have been penalized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for a manipulative trading scheme in the crude oil futures market. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent order on December 7, 2021, resolving the CFTC’s charges.
The CFTC alleged that Banoczay Jr., acting as an agent for his father and BAZUR, engaged in “spoofing” – a prohibited practice involving the placement of orders with the intent to cancel them before execution – between early 2018. Thousands of these deceptive orders were placed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in an attempt to artificially inflate or deflate the price of crude oil futures contracts.
According to the order, Banoczay Jr. strategically placed and canceled orders to create a false impression of market activity, tricking other traders into executing orders at desired prices. The court found that while Banoczay Jr. directly executed the spoofing orders, Banoczay Sr. and BAZUR were vicariously liable due to Banoczay Jr.’s actions as their authorized agent.
As a result of the settlement, Banoczay Jr. will pay a $750,000 civil monetary penalty. All three defendants – Banoczay Jr., Banoczay Sr., and BAZUR – are prohibited from trading in commodity interests and registering with the CFTC for a period of two years. They are also required to cease and desist from any further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act’s (CEA) anti-spoofing and anti-fraud provisions.
The CFTC initially filed a complaint against the defendants on September 29, 2020. The CME Group, Inc. previously took disciplinary action against Banoczay Jr. for the same conduct, issuing Notice of Disciplinary Action NYMEX 18-0877-BC on March 23, 2020. The CFTC acknowledged the assistance provided by the National Bank of Slovakia and the CME Group Inc. during the investigation.
Source: CFTC.gov
Related Federal Cases
- Denae Sullivan, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, Anchorage… · Illinois
- Two Foreign Nationals, ID Theft Scheme, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · Florida
- Yerfri Castillo, ID Theft Tax Scam, NY, 2023 · Illinois
- Letitia James Demands ICE Identity Disclosure, New York, 2023 · New Mexico
- Terry L. Gantt, ID Theft and Wire Fraud, Cedar Rapids IA, 2012 · Illinois
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News