CFTC settles with New York trader for $200,000 over spoofing allegations

CFTC: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent federal agency that regulates U.S. derivatives markets including futures and swaps to prevent fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices. In this enforcement action, the CFTC charged and settled with a New York trader for spoofing in U.S. Treasury futures markets. The agency continues to prioritize market abuse such as spoofing amid recent directives from its Enforcement Division. Sidney Lebental: Sidney Lebental is a dual French-American citizen and New York resident who traded U.S. Treasury futures and cash Treasuries on the BrokerTec platform. During 2019, he served as head of the linear rates desk in the New York office of a global financial institution. He agreed to a CFTC settlement order addressing allegations of spoofing through placing and canceling orders to mislead the market. Trading Venue: The activity occurred primarily in Ultra U.S. Treasury Bond futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade via the BrokerTec electronic trading platform operated by CME Group. Spoofing Scheme: Lebental placed genuine orders intended for execution on one side of the market while entering large spoof orders on the opposite side in correlated Treasury futures contracts, canceling the spoofs after his genuine orders filled. Enforcement Priority: CFTC Enforcement Division recently emphasized aggressive pursuit of spoofing and other disruptive trading practices in derivatives markets.