U.S. Commodity Futures Commission v. Southern Trust Metals, Inc.

The CFTC filed suit alleging that defendant violated the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), when they failed to register as futures commission merchants, transacted the purchase and sale of contracts for the future delivery of a commodity (futures) outside of a registered exchange, and promised to invest customers' money in precious metals (metals) but instead invested the funds in futures. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of the CFTC on all claims except as to the restitution award for the group of investors whose losses were associated solely with the registration violations. The court vacated that portion of the judgment and remanded with instructions to consider other equitable remedies. In this case, the district court erred in finding that the registration violation alone proximately caused any loss. View "U.S. Commodity Futures Commission v. Southern Trust Metals, Inc." on Justia Law