Federal Court Permanently Bans Individual for Failure to Register as a CTA

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (the "Court") issued an order imposing permanent trading and registration bans on an individual for registration violations and the failure to include certain required disclosures on his website.

According to the order, the individual used various methods of interstate commerce, including mail, to offer his services as a CTA in exchange for payment in the form of either flat charges or a percentage of profits from customers. Additionally, the individual used his website to solicit clients to subscribe to his "e-mini S&P 500 futures" trading program, where he would manage their trading accounts.

As a result, the individual violated the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA") by failing to register as a CTA. The individual further violated the CEA by failing to display the required cautionary statement accompanying the presentation of the performance of simulated or hypothetical trading results, which must contain specific language and be prominently displayed in immediate proximity to the hypothetical results.

The Court imposed a monetary penalty in addition to a permanent trading and registration ban.

See: Order; Memorandum Opinion.