CFTC News Release 4457-00

CFTC ACCEPTS OFFER OF SETTLEMENT FROM FORMER REGISTRANT TIMOTHY M. BENGSON IN CONNECTION WITH FRAUDULENT ALLOCATION SCHEME

CFTC Order Imposes A Permanent Trading Ban, Requires Him to Comply with Undertaking Never To Seek Registration And Requires Payment of A Civil Monetary Penalty of Up To $110,000, Pursuant To Payment Plan

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the issuance of an order accepting an offer of settlement from Timothy Michael Bengson of St. Louis, Missouri. The order resolves a CFTC complaint filed against Bengson on June 27, 2000 (See CFTC News Release 4410-00 June 28, 2000). Bengson, who is currently not registered with the Commission in any capacity, was formerly registered as an associated person of a registered futures commission merchant (FCM).

The CFTC order finds that Bengson fraudulently allocated commodity interest trades among customer accounts he handled and accounts in which he held a financial interest, in violation of the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

In June 1995, Bengson opened a commodity interest account for his then girlfriend at the FCM where he was employed and that, at various times between June 1995 and February 1997, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate and allocate trades to the detriment of his customer accounts and to the benefit of the girlfriend�s account as well as his personal error account, the order finds. Furthermore, the order finds that Bengson accomplished the fraudulent trade allocation by changing or causing to be changed the account identification on the floor and/or office order tickets after the trades were executed but before the trades were assigned to accounts, and by changing or causing to be changed the account identification on trades after the trades were executed and already assigned to accounts. On May 9, 1997, the FCM terminated Bengson�s employment.

Bengson has consented to the entry of the CFTC order which makes findings that Bengson violated sections 4b(a)(i) and 4b(a)(iii) of the CEA and:

orders Bengson to cease and desist from violating the provisions of the CEA set forth above;
requires Bengson to pay a contingent civil monetary penalty in the amount of up to one hundred and ten thousand ($110,000) dollars, pursuant to a payment plan;
permanently prohibits Bengson from trading on or subject to the rules of any contract market; and
orders Bengson to comply with his undertakings, including an undertaking never to seek registration with the CFTC in any capacity.