A trader at a proprietary trading firm agreed to settle CFTC charges for "spoofing" ( i.e., placing multiple orders without intention to execute) in the soybean, soybean meal and soybean oil futures market traded on the Chicago Board of Trade. According to the CFTC Order, the trader allegedly placed small bids or offers on one side of the market, with large bids or offers on the opposite side, in order to induce other market participants to fill the small orders as he cancelled the larger spoof orders. To settle the charges, the trader agreed to pay $120,000 and to a four-month suspension from

In a new Report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") reviewed trends in mortgage complaints during the last two years. The Report addresses the five most common types of mortgage complaints, including: (i) "trouble during payment process," (ii) "struggling to pay mortgage," (iii) "applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage," (iv) "closing on a mortgage" and (v) a "problem with a credit report or credit score." Mortgage consumers also complained about (i) the "conventional home mortgage" and (ii) the "home equity loan or line of credit."

New York State Department of Financial Services ("NYDFS") Superintendent Maria Vullo reminded NYDFS-regulated entities that they must be in full compliance with the requirements of the NYDFS's cybersecurity regulation by March 1, 2019. The NYDFS cybersecurity regulation requires banks, insurance companies and other institutions regulated by the NYDFS ("covered entities") to implement a cybersecurity program to protect consumer data ( see previous coverage). The NYDFS cybersecurity regulation went into effect on March 1, 2017, subject to a two-year implementation timeline. The final step in the

A securities firm agreed to settle FINRA charges for failure to (i) accurately report municipal security transactions to the Real-Time Transaction Reporting System ("RTRS") and (ii) maintain a sufficient written supervisory procedure. To settle the charges, Revere Securities LLC ("RS") agreed to a censure and to pay $25,000. In addition, RS submitted a corrective action statement.

A cosmetics company agreed to settle U.S. Treasury ("Treasury") Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") charges that it violated the North Korea Sanctions Regulations. According to OFAC, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Inc. ("ELF") imported over $4 million worth of "false eyelash kits from two suppliers located in the People's Republic of China" that sourced materials from North Korea. OFAC noted that ELF's sanctions compliance program was insufficient or nonexistent at the time of the apparent violations. However, ELF personnel did not have actual knowledge of the suppliers' conduct, and the company self