#4006-97 (CFTC Docket 95-6)

Release #4006-97 (CFTC Docket 95-6)

For Release: March 19, 1997

CFTC SETTLES COMPLAINT AGAINST TWO CME FLOOR BROKERS --

TIMOTHY SCOTT FOX AND JAMES MICHAEL GARRITY -- CHARGED

IN 1995 IN CONNECTION WITH PORK BELLY FUTURES TRADING

Garrity and Fox Consent to a CFTC Administrative Order Making

Findings and Imposing Sanctions, Including Restitution to Customers

WASHINGTON -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today the issuance of an order accepting offers of settlement from James Michael Garrity of Palatine, Illinois, and Timothy Scott Fox of Glenview, Illinois, both registered floor brokers on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), in connection with a three-count CFTC administrative complaint filed on February 14, 1995 (see CFTC News Release #3820-95, February 15, 1995).

The CFTC order finds that on September 17, 1991, Garrity and Fox, in the course of filling orders for customers in pork belly futures, willfully deceived those customers in violation of the anti-fraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) by causing actual price quotations to be deleted from the CME's Time-and-Sales record of price changes for transactions executed on the floor of the exchange.

The CFTC order further finds that on September 17, 1991, Garrity cheated and defrauded customers by executing a trade for his personal account ahead of, and at a better price than, 13 executable orders he held and later filled for customers.

Finally, the order finds that Garrity failed to retain original source documents upon which he recorded trade information for the required five-year period.

Garrity and Fox, without admitting or denying the findings of violations made in the CFTC order, have consented to the entry of the order, which among other things:

directs Garrity and Fox to cease and desist from further such violations of the CEA and the CFTC regulations thereunder;

directs Garrity and Fox to pay restitution to customers of $2,616 and $7,280, respectively, plus interest, from September 17, 1991 to the date of payment;

prohibits any trading by Garrity for 45 days and by Fox for 30 days; and

restricts the floor broker registrations of Garrity for 24-months and Fox for 30- months by, among other things:

prohibiting their execution of transactions without close supervision by appropriate sponsors;

prohibiting them from trading for their personal accounts during the period of supervision; and

providing for automatic suspension of their CFTC floor broker registrations if they are charged with serious disciplinary offenses by the exchange or other self-regulatory organizations.

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