Release: 4953-04 (CFTC Docket No. 04-18)
For Release: July 14, 2004

U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SETTLES RECORDKEEPING CHARGES AGAINST UNITED ENERGY, INC. AND DANA CHRISTOPHER BRAY RELATING TO TRADING IN NATURAL GAS FUTURES

United Energy, Inc. Also Settles Charges of Failure to Supervise Bray

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the simultaneous filing and settlement of an administrative action against United Energy, Inc. (United Energy), a registered introducing broker and commodity trading advisor located in New York City, and Dana Christopher Bray (Bray) of Boxford, Maine.

The CFTC order finds that, between February�21, 1999 and May�19, 2000, Bray, an employee of United Energy, accepted natural gas futures orders without obtaining specific account information from a customer, Richard A. Hale, who traded multiple accounts under various ownership. According to the order, Bray then relayed the orders to United Energy phone clerks on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) trading floor, and the phone clerks, in turn, relayed Hale’s orders to the floor for execution without supplying that identifying information. The order finds that United Energy did not have adequate policies and procedures in place, including supervisory and compliance systems reasonably designed to detect and respond to indicators of possible fraud resulting from such recordkeeping violations.

The charges in this order, entered on July 6, 2004, are related to the Commission's September 30, 2003, filing of an enforcement action in federal district court in Texas against Hale and Allegheny Gulf Investments, Inc., who were charged with defrauding commodity futures customers of $1 million. See CFTC v. Allegheny Gulf Investments, Inc. et al., Case No. H-03-3526 (S.D. Texas) (CFTC News Release 4850-03, October 7, 2003).

Without admitting or denying the findings of the order, United Energy and Bray consented to the entry of the CFTC order directing that they cease and desist from the violations of the CEA as charged, and that United Energy a pay civil monetary penalty in the amount of $20,000 and that Bray pay a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $13,000.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff were responsible for this case: Rosemary Hollinger, Scott R. Williamson, Ava M. Gould, Edwin J. Yoshimura, Charlotte A. Ohlmiller, Paul Hayeck, Richard Glaser, Eugene Smith and Lenora K. Majors-Guy.

# # #

Media Contacts
Alan Sobba
(202) 418-5080
Dennis Holden
(202) 418-5088
Office of External Affairs

Staff Contact
Rosemary Hollinger
Regional Counsel, CFTC
Division of Enforcement
(312) 596-0520

Related Document
Order