Release: 4722-02 (CFTC Docket No. 03-01)
For Release: November 7, 2002

CFTC SUES IDAHO MAN FOR FRAUDULENTLY PROMOTING HIS COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEM

CFTC ALLEGES JOHN STENBERG MADE FALSE CLAIMS CONCERNING PROFITS GENERATED BY HIS COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEM

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed and settled an action against John R. Stenberg of Dalton, Idaho, finding that he falsely told customers that he earned profits through the use of his commodity trading system as part of his efforts to market that system.

The CFTC issued an order finding that, between the fall of 1998 and the summer of 2000, Stenberg marketed a commodity trading system software called MicroFlex. The order further finds that in marketing MicroFlex, Stenberg made false oral and written claims to customers and prospective customers, as well as false claims in promotional materials hyperlinked to his website, that he had earned profits while trading commodity futures according to that system.

The settlement order, entered on November 7, 2002, finds that Stenberg made false oral and written claims about his trading profits and that he provided at least one prospective customer with selected daily commodity account statements reflecting only winning trades, although, in fact, the full record of his trading for the same period showed a net trading loss.

The CFTC settlement order also finds that Stenberg made similar profit claims about his personal MicroFlex trading in a MicroFlex promotional document that was hyperlinked to his web page, www.stenbros.com, during a one-year period. According to the order, the promotional document falsely maintained that Stenberg was generating profits from MicroFlex trading that enabled him to purchase and enjoy luxuries such as his 70-foot motor yacht.

Stenberg must now cease and desist from violating the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, pay a $25,000 civil monetary penalty, and is prohibited from making unsubstantiated claims of profits or risk in connection with the use of a commodity trading system.

In consenting to the entry of the CFTC order, Stenberg neither admitted nor denied the findings made in the Commission order.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff are responsible for this case: Susan Bovee and Todd Kelly.

Copies of the Commission’s order can be found at http://www.cftc.gov/

Media Contact

Susan Bovee
Associate Director
Division of Enforcement, (202) 418-5409

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