Release: 4719-02 (CFTC Docket 02-14)
For Release: October 28, 2002

NEW YORK FLOOR BROKER SETTLES CFTC ACTION CHARGING RECORDKEEPING VIOLATIONS

CFTC Order Requires Daniel Lipton to Pay A Civil Monetary Penalty and Restricts His Registration for Two Years

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the issuance of an order settling an administrative proceeding against Daniel Lipton of Long Beach, New York.

The CFTC order, entered on October 25, 2002, finds that, at certain times during the spring and summer of 1997 and 1998, Lipton, a registered floor broker, through the acts of his clerk, committed recordkeeping violations by failing to obtain and record customer account identification on floor order tickets upon receipt of customer orders. The CFTC order arises out of a complaint filed against Lipton and others on July 15, 2002 (see CFTC News Release 4671, July 25, 2002).

Lipton is currently registered as a floor broker on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, Inc., the New York Cotton Exchange, and the New York Futures Exchange.

Without admitting or denying the findings in the CFTC order, Lipton consented to the entry of the order finding that his clerk received coffee futures orders from an introducing broker for certain customers and prepared floor order tickets without immediately obtaining and recording account identification on those floor order tickets. Instead, according to the order, the clerk indicated that the orders had been placed by the introducing broker. The order finds further that Lipton did not receive customer account identification for the orders until after they were executed.

Specifically, the CFTC order:

• finds that Lipton violated the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC regulations as charged in the complaint;
• directs him to cease and desist from such further violations;
• imposes a civil monetary penalty of $7,500;
• restricts his registration and activities as a floor broker for a two-year period; and
• requires him to cooperate fully with the CFTC and its staff against the remaining respondents in this proceeding.

The following Division of Enforcement staff are responsible for the case: Steven Ringer, Christina Kang, John Cipriani, Beth Morgenstern, Lenel Hickson, and Stephen J. Obie.

Media Enforcement Contact

Stephen J. Obie
Regional Counsel, Eastern Regional Office
CFTC Division of Enforcement (646) 746-9766

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