CFTC News Release 4404-00 (CFTC Docket No. 00-19)

For Release May 31, 2000

CFTC FILES AND SETTLES ENFORCEMENT ACTION AGAINST HOWARD E. THOMPSON FOR EXCEEDING EXCHANGE TRADING LIMITS AND FILING A FALSE REPORT

CFTC Orders Thompson To Pay $50,000 Civil Monetary Penalty and Imposes A Sixty Day Trading Suspension

WASHINGTON � The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that it issued an order instituting and simultaneously settling an administrative proceeding against Howard E. Thompson of Bassett, Nebraska. In consenting to the order, Thompson neither admitted nor denied the findings in the order.

The CFTC order finds that, during the period of August�7,�1995 through January�31,�1997, Thompson, a commodities trader with an account at a registered futures commission merchant (FCM), controlled trading of that account and another account at the same FCM in the name of Thompson's sister-in-law and her husband. When aggregated, futures positions in his personal account and the account for his in-laws exceeded the position limits for frozen pork bellies at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on six trading days in August�1996, according to the order. As the order finds, by exceeding the CME trading limits, Thompson violated section�4a(e) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

The order also finds that Thompson signed and filed with the CFTC a required report, A Statement of Reporting Trader ("Form 40"), that recklessly and falsely stated he did not control the futures trading of any other person, in violation of sections�4i and 6(c) of the CEA and Commission regulation�18.04(a)(5). The order further finds that Thompson failed to update the inaccurate Form 40 to provide information about persons whose futures trading he controlled, as required, when he was holding or controlling reportable positions in frozen pork bellies in his and/or his in-laws account on at least 300 trading days, in violation of regulation�18.04(d). The order also finds that Thompson traded on at least 35 days that he held or controlled reportable positions in his and/or his in-laws accounts. The holding or controlling of reportable positions and trading while holding or controlling such positions without updating the Form 40 violated section 4i of the CEA, according to the order.

Thompson consented to the entry of the order, which makes the above findings and that:

• directs him to cease and desist from further violations of the CEA and CFTC regulations;
• orders Thompson to pay a $50,000 civil monetary penalty; and
• imposes a sixty-day suspension on Thompson's trading of commodity futures and options on futures.

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