CFTC Fines Sidney Lebental $200,000 for Spoofing

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered New York trader Sidney Lebental to pay a $200,000 penalty for spoofing U.S. Treasury futures, according to BeInCrypto. The case involves approximately 50 deceptive trades executed on the Chicago Board of Trade in 2019. Lebental, who neither admitted nor denied the findings, is also prohibited from trading commodity interests for one month and barred from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act’s spoofing prohibition. The CFTC noted that Lebental's actions targeted Ultra U.S. Treasury Bond futures, manipulating prices by placing genuine orders on one side and larger spoof orders on the opposite side. This enforcement action follows scrutiny from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which previously cited Lebental for suspect Treasury orders. Bank of America, where Lebental was employed, paid a $24 million fine in 2023 for related spoofing activities.