Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, ENFORCEMENT—CFTC imposes consent orders on three commodity fraudsters, files complaint against another one, (Jan 20, 2026)

By Jay Fishman, J.D.

The various violations included precious metals market spoofing, fictitious trading, and operating an unregistered commodity pool.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued three consent orders and separately filed a complaint against various commodity traders who violated the Commodity Exchange Act by engaging in fraud.

Consent orders against New York and New Jersey residents. Illinois’ Northern District Court entered two consent orders against a New York and New Jersey resident, respectively, for spoofing in the precious metals futures markets while employed at a major bank. The New York resident, barred from trading and registering with the CFTC for three months, must also pay a $200,000 civil penalty (CFTC v. Smith, No. 19 cv 6163 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 22, 2025)). The New Jersey resident must pay a $150,000 civil monetary penalty while also being barred from trading or registering for six months (CFTC v. Nowak, No. 19 cv 6163 (N.D. Ill. Dec. 22, 2025)). Both individuals must additionally cease from violating the spoofing prohibition in the Commodity Exchange Act. In a parallel action, they were criminally prosecuted, sent to prison for prescribed time periods and ordered to pay fines.

Consent order against Florida resident. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas imposed a permanent injunction on a Florida resident and his firm for misappropriating confidential information and for fictitious trading, additionally having to pay $135,788 in disgorgement and a $200,000 civil monetary penalty (CFTC v. Miller, No. 4:21-cv-04023 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 22, 2025)). Lastly, the defendants were barred from trading and registering for 18 months and from block trading for five years. In a parallel action, the individual defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud in June 2024, with the Justice Department sentencing him to five months in prison and five months of home confinement, together with a $135,788 criminal forfeiture fine.

CFTC charges Oklahoma resident. The CFTC filed a complaint in Oklahoma’s Northern District Court against an Oklahoma resident and his company for failing to register as a commodity pool operator while soliciting and accepting more than $10 million from investors. The complaint, alleging Commodity Exchange Act and rule violations, requested a permanent injunction, restitution, disgorgement, civil monetary penalties and trading and registration bans (CFTC v. Ford, No. 4:25-cv-00687-MTS (N.D. Okla. Dec. 19, 2025)). Separately, the Justice Department charged the individual defendant with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

This is case Release No. 9168-26.

Attorneys: David Whipple, U.S. Department of Justice, for the U.S. Todd G. Tucker (Welsh & McGough PLLC) for Travis Ford.

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