Chicago, IL – November 25, 2014 – Thomas Gillon of Napa County, California, is facing federal charges of fraud and operating as an unregistered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today.
The CFTC filed a civil enforcement action against Gillon in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 19, 2014. Judge Ronald A. Guzman immediately issued an emergency order freezing Gillon’s assets and prohibiting the destruction of documents relevant to the investigation. A hearing on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for December 1, 2014.
According to the CFTC’s complaint, Gillon allegedly defrauded at least three customers out of $194,000 beginning in August 2013. He falsely claimed to be a licensed broker who would trade their funds in a sub-account, promising returns of 12 to 14 percent. However, authorities say Gillon’s broker license was suspended and he was not registered with any securities firm at the time.
The CFTC alleges that Gillon only traded a portion of the customer funds, resulting in a loss of approximately $55,234. He is accused of misappropriating at least $129,766 of the investors’ money. Additionally, Gillon is charged with accepting funds to margin commodity futures trades without being properly registered as an FCM with the CFTC.
The CFTC is seeking restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, trading and registration bans, and permanent injunctions against Gillon to prevent further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The case is being pursued by Stephanie Reinhart, Melissa Glasbrenner, David Terrell, Scott Williamson, and Rosemary Hollinger of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement.
Customers with information about potential commodity trading fraud are encouraged to contact the CFTC via its toll-free hotline at 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382) or submit a tip online.
Source: CFTC.gov
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