September 30, 2019

CFTC Charges Former Floor Broker with Misappropriating Client Funds, Registration Violations, and Making False Statements

Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an order filing and settling charges against Coby Tresner of Andover, Kansas, for failing to register with the CFTC as an associated person and as a commodity trading advisor as required, misappropriating client funds, and making false or misleading statements to the CFTC during its investigation into his misconduct.

The order requires Tresner to pay a $250,000 civil monetary penalty to the CFTC as well as restitution to clients whose funds he misappropriated.  The order also permanently bans Tresner from trading on or subject to the rules of any CFTC-registered exchange or other CFTC-registered entity.  In addition, the order permanently prohibits Tresner from entering into any transactions involving commodity interests, on behalf of himself or others, and from applying for registration with the CFTC, among other prohibitions.

The order covers Tresner’s conduct during various periods of time between December 2014 and July 2018.  The order finds that Tresner solicited and received funds from clients to trade cattle futures on their behalf, but instead of using the funds for trading, Tresner misappropriated the funds and used them to pay personal debts and living expenses.

The order also finds that Tresner solicited and accepted orders for futures contracts from customers of a registered introducing broker when he was not registered as required with the CFTC as an associated person of that firm or as a floor broker.  The order further states that Tresner acted, and held himself out to the public, as a commodity trading advisor when he was not registered as such with the Commission.

Finally, the order finds that Tresner, in response to a subpoena and in an interview, knowingly provided misleading information to CFTC staff by failing to identify all persons or entities from whom he had obtained funds to trade cattle futures.

The Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this matter are Karin N. Roth, Shantel Ogbuagu, Judith Slowly, Candice Aloisi, Lenel Hickson, Jr., and Manal M. Sultan.

-CFTC-