Release: 5386-07

For Release: September 20, 2007

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Charges Slovak Republic Citizen, Maros Miklas, with Electronic Trading Fraud

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the filing of an administrative enforcement action on September 20, 2007, against Maros Miklas of Trnava, the Slovak Republic, for allegedly stealing a Canadian customer’s funds under the guise of trading commodity futures, in violation of the federal commodity laws.

The CFTC’s complaint alleges that Miklas became acquainted with the customer, Kim Lim, a Canadian citizen who resides in Ottawa, in late 2005 through an internet chat room Miklas ran on Paltalk.com. Miklas provided Lim with fictitious trading reports that portrayed Miklas as a successful futures trader. In January 2006, Miklas persuaded Lim to open two futures trading accounts and to sign a power of attorney to Miklas to trade those accounts.

As alleged, on December 21, 2006, Miklas, while trading his own account and Lim’s accounts on the Chicago Board of Trade’s eCBOT electronic trading platform, cheated and defrauded Lim by engaging in a series of illegal trades that resulted in losses totaling $213,066.30 to Lim and gains of $211,304.10 to Miklas.

The CFTC is seeking an order that would permanently prohibit Miklas from trading commodity futures in the United States, and require restitution to his defrauded customer and the payment of a civil monetary penalty.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement members were responsible for the case: Mark Bretscher, William Janulis, Ralph Der Asadourian, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.

Media Contacts
Ianthe Zabel
202-418-5080

Dennis Holden
202-418-5088

Last Updated: September 20, 2007