Two former traders of a commodity merchandising firm settled
CFTC charges for attempting to manipulate the price of wheat
futures and options contracts traded on the Chicago Board of
Trade.
According to the CFTC Orders (see here and here), respondents Peter Grady and Adam Flavin
purchased and cancelled 250 wheat shipping certificates in the
physical market in order to send a false or misleading signal to
the market in order to increase the value of certain wheat spread
and option positions. The CFTC also found that the respondents took
efforts to spread information as to the cancellation through an
industry newsletter.
Mr. Grady agreed to pay $250,000 and Mr. Flavin agreed to pay
$150,000 to settle the charges.